Better to be flexible than to have flunked

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 823-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chieh-Peng Lin ◽  
Sheng-Wuu Joe ◽  
Shih-Chih Chen ◽  
Huei-Jyuan Wang

Purpose – High team performance helps achieve several organizational benefits, such as strengthened competitive advantages, enhanced productivity, and higher profits and market share. For these reasons, the purpose of this paper is to propose a model based on the framework of proactive motivation and the theory of collectivism to analyze the formation of service flexibility and team performance. Design/methodology/approach – To test the hypotheses, this study conducts a survey of service staff in teams from high-tech firms in a well-known industrial zone in Northern Taiwan. These teams provide service for their industrial customers. From the survey, this study confirms the full mediating mechanism of service flexibility among the teams. Findings – The test results reveal that service flexibility fully mediates the relationship between team performance and its exogenous factors. Whereas collectivism negatively moderates the relationship between team efficacy and service flexibility, it does not moderate the relationship between service recovery and service flexibility. Furthermore, collectivism positively moderates the relationship between service flexibility and team performance. Originality/value – This study provides important findings that complement previous literature by examining three fresh antecedents for explaining how team performance is motivated by the mediating role of service flexibility and how some of the study’s model paths are moderated by collectivism. The mediating role of service flexibility indicates that managers can apply service flexibility as a firewall that calibrates a team’s input and output. Managers should encourage the application of agile solutions and advanced technology for facilitating team flexibility, consequently improving team performance.

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 2743-2761
Author(s):  
Yaowu Sun ◽  
Qi Zhong

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer novel and complementary insights into the relationship between product modularity and product innovation by investigating the mediating role of module suppliers' relationship-specific investments which include both property-based relationship-specific investment (PRSI) and knowledge-based relationship-specific investment (KRSI).Design/methodology/approachThis paper is an empirical study based on structural equation modelling, with a sample of 121 core firms of high-tech modular cooperation in China.FindingsThe findings indicated that product modularity had a significant positive effect on product innovation; product modularity was positively related to module suppliers' PRSI; module suppliers’ KRSI had a direct effect on product innovation while PRSI had an indirect effect on product innovation through KRSI; the relationship between product modularity and product innovation was serially multi-mediated by module suppliers’ PRSI and KRSI.Practical implicationsModular product design and modular cooperation governance guidance for core firms and cooperative investment strategies guidance for module suppliers were provided.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to analyse how product modularity affects product innovation in the context of inter-firm modular cooperation by revealing the mediating role of module suppliers' relationship-specific investments.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 190-205
Author(s):  
Flavio Urbini ◽  
Antonino Callea ◽  
Antonio Chirumbolo ◽  
Alessandra Talamo ◽  
Emanuela Ingusci ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the goodness of the input-process-output (IPO) model in order to evaluate work team performance within the Italian National Health Care System (NHS); and second, to test the mediating role of reflexivity as an overarching process factor between input and output. Design/methodology/approach The Italian version of the Aston Team Performance Inventory was administered to 351 employees working in teams in the Italian NHS. Mediation analyses with latent variables were performed via structural equation modeling (SEM); the significance of total, direct, and indirect effect was tested via bootstrapping. Findings Underpinned by the IPO framework, the results of SEM supported mediational hypotheses. First, the application of the IPO model in the Italian NHS showed adequate fit indices, showing that the process mediates the relationship between input and output factors. Second, reflexivity mediated the relationship between input and output, influencing some aspects of team performance. Practical implications The results provide useful information for HRM policies improving process dimensions of the IPO model via the mediating role of reflexivity as a key role in team performance. Originality/value This study is one of a limited number of studies that applied the IPO model in the Italian NHS. Moreover, no study has yet examined the role of reflexivity as a mediator between input and output factors in the IPO model.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bang-Ning Hwang ◽  
Yi-Ping Lai ◽  
Chunhsien Wang

PurposeThis study aims to examine the relationships among open innovation, organizational ambidexterity and firm performance. One important aspect of open innovation is that it enables a firm to develop its organizational ambidexterity capability and become more efficient in using this capability to improve its performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors introduce a moderated mediation theoretical framework to reveal the bridging role of organizational ambidexterity in the effect of open innovation on firm performance. The theoretical model is empirically validated using survey data from 215 high-tech firms.FindingsThe authors find that open innovation plays a moderating role in the relationship between organizational ambidexterity and firm performance. Furthermore, organizational ambidexterity plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between open innovation and firm performance, and open innovation has a nonlinear, inverse U-shaped moderation effect on the relationship between organizational ambidexterity and firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis is one of the first studies to undertake a moderated mediation analysis by highlighting the mediating role of organizational ambidexterity and the moderating role of open innovation in influencing firm performance. The authors make a theoretical contribution to the field of open innovation and organizational behavior, and the authors provide concrete and feasible decision-making suggestions to decision makers adopting open innovation.Practical implicationsThe empirical results can help high-tech firm managers ascertain the organizational ambidexterity practices that can be employed and determine the level of open innovation to enhance firm performance.Originality/valueThis research provides new insights into whether and how firms can grasp the benefits of organizational ambidexterity to undertake open innovation activities. The findings not only contribute to advancing the mediating effect of organizational ambidexterity but also verify the inverse U-shaped moderation of open innovation in the relationship between organizational ambidexterity and firm performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 571-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weilin Su ◽  
Bei Lyu ◽  
Hui Chen ◽  
Yanzi Zhang

PurposeWith the rapid development of the service industry, service innovation has gradually become a hot topic in business today. How to further improve employees' service innovative behaviors has become critical to organizations' survival and success. Servant leadership, as a leadership style characterized by serving others, is closely related to employees' service innovative behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a theoretical framework to examine the influence of servant leadership on employees' service innovative behavior, the mediating role of intrinsic motivation and the moderating role of identification with the leader.Design/methodology/approachTo test the theoretical model, a multi-time survey method was used to collect data from 381employees from a large high-tech company in Mainland China.FindingsThe results confirm that servant leadership can promote employees' service innovative behavior and intrinsic motivation. Meanwhile, employees' intrinsic motivation partly mediates the influence of servant leadership on their service innovative behavior. Moreover, this mediating relationship is conditional on the moderating role of individual identification with the leader in the path from servant leadership to individual intrinsic motivation.Research limitations/implicationsThe key limitation of this study lies in the representativeness of sample data, which is the convenience of non-probability sampling and self-reported data only from a large high-tech company in China.Practical implicationsThis study not only further verified a promotion factor of individual service innovative behavior from the perspective of leader influence, but also enriched the understanding of the positive influence of servant leadership on employees.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine the relationships among servant leadership, employees' intrinsic motivation, identification with the leader and service innovative behavior. The results may help to open the “black box” of the relationship between servant leadership and employees' service innovative behavior by introducing their intrinsic motivation. The conclusions also indicate employees' identification with the leader is an important boundary condition among their relationships. Particularly, it not only moderates the relationship between servant leadership and intrinsic motivation, but also moderates the mediating role of intrinsic motivation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 630-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Won Ho Kim ◽  
Young-An Ra ◽  
Jong Gyu Park ◽  
Bora Kwon

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of burnout (i.e. exhaustion, cynicism, professional inefficacy) in the relationship between job level and job satisfaction as well as between job level and task performance. Design/methodology/approach The final sample included 342 Korean workers from selected companies. The authors employed the Hayes (2013) PROCESS tool for analyzing the data. Findings The results showed that all three subscales of burnout (i.e. exhaustion, cynicism, professional inefficacy) mediate the relationship between job level and job satisfaction. However, only two mediators (i.e. cynicism, professional inefficacy) indicated the mediating effects on the association between job level and task performance. Originality/value This research presented the role of burnout on the relationships between job level, job satisfaction, and task performance especially in South Korean organizational context. In addition to role of burnout, findings should prove helpful in improving job satisfaction and task performance. The authors provide implications and limitations of the findings.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Asim Rafique ◽  
Yumei Hou ◽  
Muhammad Adnan Zahid Chudhery ◽  
Nida Gull ◽  
Syed Jameel Ahmed

PurposeInnovations are imperative for organizational growth and sustainability. This study focuses on the employees' innovative behavior, a source of organizational innovations, which has received substantial attention from the researchers. Based on the psychological empowerment theory, the study exposes the effect of the various dimensions of public service motivation (PSM) on employees' innovative behavior (IB) in public sector institutions especially in the context of developing countries such as Pakistan. Moreover, the study also investigates the mediating role of psychological empowerment (PSE) between the dimensions of PSM and IB.Design/methodology/approachThis study used the cross-sectional research design. By using random sampling, the adapted survey questionnaires were used to collect data from 346 faculty members of public sector universities located in provincial capitals of Pakistan. A partial least square–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) tool was used to assess the proposed hypotheses through SMART-PLS software.FindingsResults revealed that attraction to policymaking (APM), compassion (COM), self-sacrifice (SS) have a significant impact on employees' PSE and their innovative behavior, while the relationship of commitment to the public interest (CPI) with PSE and IB was found insignificant. Moreover, PSE partially mediated the relationship between PSM dimensions and employees' IB.Originality/valueThere was a scarcity of research on IB especially in public sector institutions such as academia. This study theoretically contributed to the literature by providing a refined picture in assessing the proposed relationship of the constructs. This is also one of the original studies that examine the relationship between the dimensions of PSM and IB.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xun Zhang ◽  
Biao Xu ◽  
Jun Wu

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between renqing and purchase intentions and the mechanism of its impact in the Chinese business-to-business (B2B) context. Design/methodology/approach Renqing in China has played an important role in business relationships and has been receiving increased attention in both practice and theory. However, little is known about whether it can influence purchase intentions in a rational B2B condition. This research aims to examine the relationship between renqing and purchase intentions and the mechanism of its impact in the Chinese B2B context. Based on a survey of 1,010 industry buyers from 468 Chinese downstream buyer companies, the empirical findings indicate a positive relationship between renqing and purchase intentions and the mediating role of long-term orientation (LTO) for increasing purchase intentions. In addition, this study also finds that product involvement (PI) has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between renqing and purchase intentions, which means that renqing has a big positive effect on purchase intentions in low PI conditions. The results highlight several implications for B2B companies that sell products to Chinese enterprises. Findings The empirical findings indicate a positive relationship between renqing and purchase intentions and the mediating role of LTO for increasing purchase intentions. In addition, this study also finds that PI has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between renqing and purchase intentions, which means that renqing has a big positive effect on purchase intentions in low PI conditions. Originality/value First of all, by answering the research question, this study shows that renqing has a positive effect on purchase intentions in Chinese B2B context. Second, this study elucidates the influence mechanism of renqing on purchase intention and identifies the mediating effect of LTO and the moderating effect of PI.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  

Purpose This study investigated how and when corporate social responsibility (CSR) fosters job seekers’ application intentions. The authors used a “mediated moderation mode” to explore the positive effect of CSR on job seekers’ intention to apply. They considered the moderating role of applicants’ calling and the mediating role of value congruence in the relationship between the person and organization. Design/methodology/approach To test their hypotheses the authors developed a questionnaire and sent it to a sample of 259 college students with a mean age of 22.67 in South Korea. All were either prospective or current job seekers and 55.2pc were female. Two scenarios were developed based on the real-life case of a well-known coffee franchise’s CSR policies. The scenarios were identical except that one had more proactive CSR policies. Findings Results showed that a company’s proactive CSR programs increase job seekers’ intention to apply, which was moderated by their “calling” for the job. The research also demonstrated that “value congruence” between the applicant and the organization fully mediated the interaction between CSR and calling. The results, the authors said, suggested that engaging in active CSR could attract job applicants, providing a potential competitive advantage. Originality/value The authors said their study contributed to the literature as it took the job seeker’s perspective whereas most previous research on calling focused on employees. They said it was the first study to empirically demonstrate the interaction between a sense of calling and CSR.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofeng Su ◽  
Weipeng Zeng ◽  
Manhua Zheng ◽  
Xiaoli Jiang ◽  
Wenhe Lin ◽  
...  

PurposeFollowing the rapid expansion of data volume, velocity and variety, techniques and technologies, big data analytics have achieved substantial development and a surge of companies make investments in big data. Academics and practitioners have been considering the mechanism through which big data analytics capabilities can transform into their improved organizational performance. This paper aims to examine how big data analytics capabilities influence organizational performance through the mediating role of dual innovations.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the resource-based view and recent literature on big data analytics, this paper aims to examine the direct effects of big data analytics capabilities (BDAC) on organizational performance, as well as the mediating role of dual innovations on the relationship between (BDAC) and organizational performance. The study extends existing research by making a distinction of BDACs' effect on their outcomes and proposing that BDACs help organizations to generate insights that can help strengthen their dual innovations, which in turn have a positive impact on organizational performance. To test our proposed research model, this study conducts empirical analysis based on questionnaire-base survey data collected from 309 respondents working in Chinese manufacturing firms.FindingsThe results support the proposed hypotheses regarding the direct and indirect effect that BDACs have on organizational performance. Specifically, this paper finds that dual innovations positively mediate BDACs' effect on organizational performance.Originality/valueThe conclusions on the relationship between big data analytics capabilities and organizational performance in previous research are controversial due to lack of theoretical foundation and empirical testing. This study resolves the issue by provides empirical analysis, which makes the research conclusions more scientific and credible. In addition, previous literature mainly focused on BDACs' direct impact on organizational performance without making a distinction of BDAC's three dimensions. This study contributes to the literature by thoroughly introducing the notions of BDAC's three core constituents and fully analyzing their relationships with organizational performance. What's more, empirical research on the mechanism of big data analytics' influence on organizational performance is still at a rudimentary stage. The authors address this critical gap by exploring the mediation of dual innovations in the relationship through survey-based research. The research conclusions of this paper provide new perspective for understanding the impact of big data analytics capabilities on organizational performance, and enrich the theoretical research connotation of big data analysis capabilities and dual innovation behavior.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jookyung Kwon ◽  
Jiseon Ahn

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of cruise attributes on impulse buying of service customers through impulsive buying tendency. Specifically, this study investigates whether service attributes (variety of selection and price) influence the impulsive buying behavior of customers by stimulating their impulsive buying tendency. Design/methodology/approach Partial least squares-structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis using a sample of 143 cruise customers. Mediating analysis was conducted to examine whether customer personal traits (impulsivity) mediated the relationship between service attributes and impulsive buying behavior. Findings The findings showed that price attributions had a significant positive direct impact on impulsive buying tendency and behavior, while a variety of selections had a significant direct effect on impulse buying behavior. The results revealed a significant mediating role of impulsive buying tendency in the relationship between price attributions and impulse buying. Originality/value Although studies on the decision-making style of service customers have been widely discussed, a limited number of studies has examined customers’ impulsive buying behavior in the service sector. Considering the importance of impulsive purchasing as a valuable marketing tool, the results of this study can help service providers and researchers enhance their knowledge of the mechanism of impulse buying behavior.


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