Towards an Instrument of Measuring the Construct of Leadership by The 10 Cs for Employee Engagement

This paper seeks to operationalized the construct of leadership with the influence of 10 Cs of employee engagement with the intention of measuring it. In addition, it addresses the intellectual curiosity to know the intensity of leadership of the managerial employees by using this instrument. The relationship between leadership and employee engagement is also examined. The archival method was used in the literature review. In order to analyze the data relating to 272 managerial employees, structural equation modeling was used. The construct of leadership operationalized using the 10 Cs formula for employee engagement is suggested. The link between leadership and employee engagement is also identified based on the theoretical background and literature-based evidence. The study emphasizes the magnitude leadership instrument using the 10 Cs formula for employee engagement in measuring the relationship between leadership and employee engagement.

Psychological attachment in the new normal working context: Influence of career navigation and career well-being attributes

Background: The new normal working context, characterised by fast changes, rapid upskilling, adoption of technology, and remote working, requires employees to remain psychologically attached to their organisations. More insight is needed regarding how career navigation (as an attribute of career agility) and career well-being attributes explain the psychological attachment of employees in order to invest in their career development amidst the chaos and demands driven by the new normal working context.Objective: The study explored career navigation and career well-being attributes (i.e. positive career effect, career networking/social support, and career meaningfulness) as potential explanatory mechanisms of individuals’ psychological attachment.Method: The study used a cross-sectional research design, which involved a convenience sample (n = 177) of national and international employees (mean age = 34 years; standard deviation [SD] = 10.14), represented by 39% managerial employees, 38% staff, and 23% professional consultants. Most of the participants (72%) were employed by South African organisations.Results: Multiple regression analysis revealed that career navigation explains higher levels of psychological attachment (including affective, normative, and continuous attachment). Positive career effects significantly predicted continuous attachment, whereas social support/career networking positively predicted overall psychological attachment and affective and normative attachment. Career meaningfulness was found to explain higher levels of overall and affective psychological attachment.Conclusion: The findings contribute new insights into the construct of career navigation and career well-being attributes and extend research on the antecedents of psychological attachment in the new normal working space, characterised by remote working and technology.

Leader Tolerance of Ambiguity: Implications for Follower Performance Outcomes in High and Low Ambiguous Work Situations

Individuals high in tolerance of ambiguity (TOA) are comfortable with, desire, and strive to manage ambiguous situations. We predicted leader TOA would be associated with better follower performance outcomes, depending on the level (Study 1) and nature (Study 2) of follower role ambiguity. Data were collected from employees (Study 1, n = 423) and managerial employees (Study 2, n = 326) who rated their leader on three facets of TOA and provided self-reports of their own performance outcomes. Positive implications of leader TOA for follower learning goal orientation and job performance (Study 1) were most pronounced when followers perceived low role ambiguity and, in the prediction of situational coping (Study 2), when ambiguous work situations were categorized as challenges (unexpected events requiring problem-solving) compared to hindrances. Findings have theoretical implications for understanding when TOA in leaders is optimal and have practical relevance for leaders seeking to adapt to the situational needs of their followers.

Facilitating sustainability control in SMEs through the implementation of an environmental management system

This paper explores the characteristic type and use of sustainability control in small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through the implementation of an environmental management system, formally certified to ISO 14001. Through a qualitative study of 18 SMEs and seven auditors operating in Northern Europe, the paper draws on the theoretical framework of sustainability control as an analytical tool to explore the interplay between the formal design of control instruments and the operational use of these in practice for the studied SMEs. The study finds that both the formalised control instrument design and operational use of these controls by employees are characteristically formal and procedure based for ISO 14001 certification. Nevertheless, environmental management in daily tasks is also achieved by engaging non-managerial employees through their passionate interests and intrinsic motivations. In extension to previous sustainability control research, the findings emphasise that local level operator knowledge is not only the product of formalised control system design, and that external factors are also important for guiding employee behaviour in situ. This proposes that daily working tasks are achieved through a combination of organisational and extra-organisational individual values and beliefs about sustainability. Particularly, engaging non-managerial employees in SMEs through a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards appears valuable for sustainable futures. Therefore, in addition to compliance-driven controls, SME owner-managers should ensure supportive structures where employees are given the autonomy to be creative and innovative.

A stakeholder perspective on public sector innovation: Linking the target groups of innovations to the inclusion of stakeholder ideas

Public sector innovation scholarship has not yet systematically explored how the target context (or output phase) of innovations impacts the early phases of innovation processes. This study theorizes and tests whether innovating organizations are more sensitive to ideas from particular stakeholder groups depending on the target group of said innovation. Using a large-scale dataset from the Australian Public Service, the results show that innovations with external target groups are more likely to be built on ideas from external stakeholders (compared with internal stakeholders) and—within the group of internal stakeholders—on ideas from managers (compared with non-managerial employees). Practical and scholarly implications are discussed. Points for practitioners: Innovations benefit from the inclusion of internal and external stakeholder ideas, both substantively (appropriate knowledge leads to better end products) and symbolically (innovations need to be deemed legitimate, and receive support from the actors that will be primarily impacted by the innovation). Innovating organizations need to be aware of the perceptions of the stakeholders affected by the innovation, and properly sense, capture and translate the ideas of those stakeholders in the innovation process.

Influence of Policy Framework and Technology on Change Management in Selected Telecommunication Companies in Tanzania

The general objective of this study was to assess factors that affects change management in telecommunication companies. The design adopted for this study was descriptive research design. The study targeted managerial employees in selected telecommunications companies. The findings of the study revealed that both regulatory framework and technological advancement have a positive and significant influence on change management. The study concluded that regulatory framework and technological advancement are key factors in change management and therefore recommended the need to enhance both regulatory framework and technology as support mechanisms for change management in telecommunication companies. Based on the findings, the study recommended further studied in change management.

Investigating the impact of technostress on productivity and overall life satisfaction of managers working at a South African ferrochrome smelting company

Orientation: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) advances such as computers, tablets, and cell phones allow for information flow like never before, both in terms of speed and volume. But, unfortunately, this has resulted in technostress.Research purpose: To investigate the impact of technostress on the productivity and the overall life satisfaction of managers working in ferrochrome smelters.Motivation for the study: Limited research has been conducted on technostress in a South African context. Most of the researches on technostress were conducted amongst computer professionals and Information Technology (IT) consultants and they did not focus on non-ICT specialists such as managers who are exposed to ICT as a regular part of their workday.Research approach/design and method: This study was conducted within a quantitative paradigm using a correlational design.Main findings: The managers experience low levels of technostress, high levels of IT-enabled productivity, and above-average life satisfaction. No practically significant differences exist for any of the research factors between males and females, whilst techno-complexity and techno-uncertainty increase with age. Technostress does not affect productivity, but a negative relationship exists between technostress and life satisfaction.Practical/managerial implications: Techno-uncertainty and techno-complexity are present amongst older managerial employees. Techno-complexity decreases the self-reported levels of productivity. Strategies such as training and assistance to reduce the techno-complexity for older managerial employees should be considered.Contribution/value-add: This study creates an awareness of the potential negative impact of ICT on productivity and life satisfaction. It contributes to the body of knowledge by quantifying the impact of the managers’ perceived technostress on productivity and life satisfaction.

Passive leadership and deviant behaviors: the moderating effect of power distance and collectivism

PurposeThis study investigates the relationship between passive leadership and deviant behaviors targeted to supervisors (supervisor-directed deviance) and coworkers (interpersonal deviance), and the moderating effect power distance and collectivism have on these relationships.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a survey questionnaire. Respondents were 310 non-managerial employees working in various industries in Surabaya, Indonesia. This study uses partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine hypotheses.FindingsThis study indicates that passive leadership has a positive relationship with supervisor-directed deviance, but not with interpersonal deviance. Moreover, power distance moderates these relationships. Additionally, the findings show that collectivism moderates the relationship between passive leadership and interpersonal deviance, but not with supervisor-directed deviance.Practical implicationsManagers need to be aware of the roles and responsibilities of their positions and understand their subordinates' expectations, specifically related to their cultural values.Originality/valueFew studies have investigated the relationship between passive leadership and deviant behaviors, especially those directed at supervisors and coworkers. Also, there is little study that explored the role of cultural values in these relationships. The present study provides new insight regarding the moderating role power distance and collectivism have in the relationship between passive leadership and deviant behaviors.

How Organizational Unfairness Impedes Service Employees Needs Fulfillment? The Case of Islamic Banking Industry in Pakistan

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore how organizational unfairness impedes fulfilment of various needs of non-managerial employees at Islamic banks. Methodology: The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews from sixteen non-managerial employees of different fully Islamic bank branches located in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. Findings: The study findings indicate that issues in the distributive, procedural and interactional justice elements of Islamic banks impedes fulfilment of basic, social, security, self-esteem, and self-actualization needs of non-managerial service employees of Islamic banks and adversely affects their wellbeing. Significance: This research contributes to the literature on organizational fairness by unpacking the ways in which issues in the organizational justice elements impeded non-managerial service employees’ life needs fulfilment. This study investigates the above-mentioned issue from the Islamic banks non-managerial employees’ perspective, which was not empirically investigated earlier. Limitations: The qualitative research findings might lack external validity or generalizability. In the future, a study could investigate this topic through survey research. Second, this research merely investigated how organizational unfairness impedes employees’ life needs. In future, a study could explore the strategies employed by the employees encountering organizational unfairness for resolving the issues relating to stress and other socio-economic aspects. Practical and Social Implications: This study findings provided an avenue to offer a number of practical implications to enhance fairness for non-managerial service employees in Islamic banks.

Gender stereotyping and self-stereotyping among Danish managers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe how gender stereotypes and self-stereotypes of Danish managers vary among managers at different job levels, from lower level managers to CEO level, in a large survey of Danish private-sector managers. Design/methodology/approach This study is explorative. Measures of stereotypes and self-stereotypes are constructed and analyzed with regressions models that control for a large number of individual and firm characteristics. Findings The results document significant gender differences in stereotyping among managers. Male managers have significantly more masculine stereotypes of successful leaders, and they rate themselves higher on masculine traits than female managers. For CEOs, the picture is different. Stereotypes do not differ by gender and female CEOs have more pronounced masculine stereotypes than female managers at lower levels. Female managers at the age of 50 are the least gender stereotyping managers. Younger female managers have significantly more masculine stereotypes about the role as a successful leader. Research limitations/implications This study is based on cross-sectional data and does not claim to uncover causal relationships. Practical implications The results suggest that gender stereotypes and self-stereotypes among Danish private-sector managers are not going to change quickly indicating that new government policies with more focus on gender equalization and affirmative actions are called for. Originality/value Most earlier studies of stereotypes concerning female managers are based on studies of samples drawn from the general population or consisting of students. This study makes use of a large sample of managerial employees from all levels of the corporate hierarchy in different types of firms.