Promoting Effective Psychological Contracts Through Leadership: The Missing Link Between HR Strategy and Performance

The influence of internship satisfaction and the psychological contract on the career identity behavior of fresh graduates

Introduction

Frequent resignation of young workers brings huge costs to the organizational management of enterprises. The frequent turnover behavior is a sign of low career identity, and exploring the paths that influence career identity behaviors is necessary. Previous studies have found that internship satisfaction and the psychological contract can influence career identity behavior. However, the dimensions of the psychological contract are unclear, and it is uncertain whether internship satisfaction can influence career identity behavior through the different dimensions of the psychological contract. This study attempts to expand the concept of psychological contract and construct a multiple mediation model. It aims to analyze the mediating role of different dimensions of the psychological contract between internship satisfaction and career identity behavior.

Methods

A sample survey was conducted on Chinese fresh graduates by way of the questionnaire survey, and a total of 576 valid questionnaires were collected. Amos 26.0 was used to analyze the data and verify the multiple mediation model.

Results

The results showed that psychological contract can be divided into three dimensions: transactional contract, relational contract, and developmental contract. Internship satisfaction can positively influence career identity behavior via the three dimensions of psychological contract, and there are differences in mediating effects among the dimensions. The mediating effect of developmental contract is the highest, relational contract is the second, and transactional contract is the lowest.

Discussion

This article expands the dimensions of psychological contract, emphasizes the importance of developmental contract, contributes to the literature on organizational psychology, and provides scales and empirical evidence for future research. The analysis points out that fresh graduates with long-term development opportunities often show higher career identity behavior. This provides valuable insights for enhancing career identity behavior, improving career sustainability, and assisting organizations in managing human resource mobility.

Family-Friendly Policies: Extrapolating A Pathway towards Better Work Attitudes and Work Behaviors in Hong Kong

The need for family-friendly policies to balance work and life demands is growing. Many studies have addressed how family-friendly policies relate to a variety of employees' work attitudes and behavioral outcomes, but not how they (positively or negatively) affect them, especially the affective components of family-friendly policies that provide "felt" support to an employee. To fill this gap, this study adopts a moderated mediating mechanism to analyze how affective components of family-friendly policies impact employees' attitudes and behaviors through signaling and social exchange theory. We examined how this impact is mediated by factors such as work-life conflict, perceived organizational support, and control over working hours, as well as whether having a supportive supervisor moderates the mediated effect through further limiting the degree of work-life conflict or strengthening control over working hours. Data were collected through a survey with 401 employee-supervisor dyads from organizations in Hong Kong. We found that family-friendly policies do not necessarily affect work attitude and behavior, but they work through the sequential mediators of having more control over working hours and perceived organizational support. The role of supportive supervisors is also significant, in that they are likely to be key in molding the organizational environment for the gradual provision and uptake of family-friendly policies. The results of this study contribute to the development of signaling and social exchange theory and have theoretical implications for supervisors regarding them utilizing their position to improve employee work attitudes and behavioral outcomes.

Collective compass to unit performance: linking transformational leadership climate, trust and engagement

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to examine how shared perceptions of collective behaviors, such as transformational leadership climate (TLC), collective trust and collective engagement, affect unit performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consisted of 450 employees in 74 agencies of a financial organization, using measurements at the collective team level. Multiple structural equation modeling analyses were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The relationship between TLC and unit performance was sequentially mediated by collective trust and collective engagement.

Originality/value

This study highlights how employees' shared perceptions of different team characteristics can affect the overall functioning and performance of an organization.

Organizational E-Readiness for the Digital Transformation of Primary Healthcare Providers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many countries to implement a variety of restrictive measures to prevent it from spreading more widely, including the introduction of medical teleconsultations and the use of various tools in the field of inpatient telemedicine care. Digital technologies provide a wide range of treatment options for patients, and at the same time pose a number of organizational challenges for medical entities. Therefore, the question arises of whether organizations are ready to use modern telemedicine tools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this article is to examine two factors that impact the level of organizational e-readiness for digital transformation in Polish primary healthcare providers (PHC). The first factor comprises operational capabilities, which are the sum of valuable, scarce, unique, and irreplaceable resources and the ability to use them. The second factor comprises technological capabilities, which determine the adoption and usage of innovative technologies. Contrary to the commonly analyzed impacts of technology on operational capabilities, we state the reverse hypothesis. The verification confirms the significant influence of operational capabilities on technological capabilities. The research is conducted using a questionnaire covering organizational e-readiness for digital transformation prepared by the authors. Out of the 32 items examined, four are related to the operational capabilities and four to the technological capabilities. The result of our evaluation shows that: (i) a basic set of four variables can effectively measure the dimensions of OC, namely the degree of agility, level of process integration, quality of resources, and quality of cooperation; (ii) a basic set of three variables can effectively measure the dimensions of TC, namely adoption and usage of technologies, customer interaction, and process automation; (iii) the empirical results show that OC is on a higher level than TC in Polish PHCs; (iv) the assessment of the relationship between OC and TC reveals a significant influence of operational capabilities on technological capabilities with a structural coefficient of 0.697. We recommend increasing the level of technological capability in PHC providers in order to improve the contact between patients and general practitioners (GPs) via telemedicine in lockdown conditions.

A qualitative study of hospital clinical staff perceptions of their interactions with healthcare middle managers

PURPOSE

The authors explored clinical staff perceptions of their interactions with middle management and their experiences of the uncongeniality of their working environment.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

Semi-structured interviews of clinical staff from an Australian public health service's Emergency, Surgery and Psychiatry departments. Volunteer interview transcripts were inductively coded using a reflexive thematic content analysis.

FINDINGS

Of 73 interviews, 66 participants discussed their interactions with management. Most clinicians considered their interactions with middle management to be negative based on a violation of their expectations of support in the workplace. Collectively, these interactions formed the basis of clinical staff perceptions of management's lack of capacity and fit for the needs of staff to perform their roles.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Strategies to improve management's fit with clinicians' needs may be beneficial for reducing uncongenial workplaces for healthcare staff and enhanced patient care.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

This article is among the few papers that discuss interactions with management from the perspective of clinical staff in healthcare. How these perspectives inform the perception of workplace uncongeniality for clinicians contributes greater understanding of the factors contributing to adversarial relationships between clinicians and managers.

Impact of psychological contract fulfillment on well-being through the mediation of psychological distress: unveiling the evidences from banking sector

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the content of the psychological contract (PC), i.e. work-family conflict (WFC), family-work conflict (FWC), work overload (WO) and work autonomy (WA) and its impact on well-being (WB), i.e. job satisfaction (JS), family satisfaction (FS), life satisfaction (LS), through the mediation of psychological distress (PD).

Design/methodology/approach

The current study has adopted a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional research design with a snowball sampling technique. The sample size consists of 400 employees from the banking sector. SPSS and AMOS 20v has been used for structural equation modelling to give empirical findings from the responses collected.

Findings

The current study has checked the relationship between PC and WB through the mediation analysis of PD. WA was not affecting the WB of banking employees. The study found that there was partial mediation. It was also proven that the lower the breach of PC lower the PD, and the higher the WB.

Originality/value

The current study has tried to explain the content of PC among the employees of the banking sector and how that is associated with WB. There was limited work from which showcase the WFC, FWC and WO from the view of PC theory, and it affects different WB, i.e. JS, LS and FS.

Psychological contract and work outcomes during COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose

The purpose of the current research is to examine the impact of psychological contract fulfillment on work outcomes i.e. organizational commitment and job satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also aims to check the mediating role of co-worker support and work engagement on organizational outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study has adopted a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional research design has been used with a snowball sampling technique. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire through Google Docs from 926 respondents working at different capacities in the service sector. The study includes those respondents who are working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

Results indicated that psychological contract fulfillment was positively impacting work outcomes i.e. organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Co-worker support and work engagement positively mediated the relationship between psychological contract fulfillment and work outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Multi-group analysis proved that there was a difference in opinion regarding the impact of psychological contract fulfillment on organizational commitment and job satisfaction amongst males and females.

Originality/value

The novel contribution of the study is integrating social exchange theory, organization support theory and social information processing theory during the pandemic situation. The results highlighted meticulous empirical evidence, which answers the question as to how the met expectations cause an advantageous effect on the employees as well as the organizations in this COVID-19 pandemic situation.

The Relationship Between Transformational Leadership and Organisational Learning Capability with the Mediating Role of Perceived Human Resource Effectiveness

The study investigates the relationship between transformational leadership (TL) and organisational learning capability (OLC) and explores the mediating role of human resource (HR) effectiveness. A quantitative survey method was used to gather data from the software industry in Pakistan through a self-administered questionnaire ( N = 504). Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to check the reliability and validity of the research instrument. In addition, structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Research findings have demonstrated that TL positively affects OLC in software companies. Moreover, perceived HR effectiveness mediates the relationship between TL and OLC. Current research has several theoretical and practical implications as it extends the ability-motivation-opportunity (AMO) theory by considering perceived HR effectiveness as an important facilitator of a firm’s learning capability. This study provides valuable insights for organisational leaders to ensure HR effectiveness in terms of HR practices including recruitment, training and compensation for the development of learning capabilities. It also recommends managers to adopt TL for utilising HR effectiveness in order to improve learning at an organisational level.

Leadership style and psychological contract

This study explores the relationship between leadership style and psychological contract dimensions. The literature suggests that leaders in general and leadership style in particular can influence the psychological contracts of employees. Currently, there is no research as to how leaders perceive such contracts. This qualitative study presents the interview findings of twenty-three leaders working in public and private sector organisations. Differences were found between neutral and transformational leaders. Neutral leaders had a more transactional psychological contract, whereas the transformational leaders had a more relational psychological contract. This study adds to the literature as there is no current framework that considers the relationship between leadership styles with the psychological contract. Overall, the results indicate differences in psychological contract perceptions for different leadership styles.

The role of leadership and engagement in call center performance: answering the call in Peru

Purpose

To examine the effects of leadership style on in-role performance through feedback seeking behavior (FSB) and engagement using the job demands resource theory (JD-R).

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consisted of 152 employees working in a Peruvian call center. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses.

Findings

Transformational leadership was significantly related to in-role performance, with FSB and engagement sequentially mediating the relationship.

Originality/value

This study highlights the motivational processes that can lead to employee engagement and performance within a call center and identifies the contribution of feedback seeking within this environment.

The Influence of Heuristic judgments in Social Media on Corporate Reputation: A Study in Spanish Leader Companies

From a corporate-side perspective, the communication of reputational actions and news of companies becomes critical for success. However, in communication, business, and management studies, heuristics can be understood as simple cognitive processes that allow assessments, predictions, and decisions to be made quickly and efficiently by consumers and economic agents. This aspect can sometimes lead to cognitive biases, especially when little information is available or in situations of high uncertainty. The aim of this research is to investigate the influence of heuristic judgments in social media on corporate reputation ratings obtained in Spanish leader companies. Using data collected in Spain, this paper analyzes the influence of heuristics concerning news items on corporate reputation, measured by the Monitor Empresarial de Reputación Corporativa (MERCO) Index. The main finding of this paper is that the total number of news items has a positive effect on corporate reputation, particularly in the categories of culture-values, results/image, expansion, and sponsorship/donations. Additionally, this work serves as a repository of knowledge applicable to similar situations considering the specificities of each particular case. The importance to intervene on certain variables at different levels of managerial performance is described and implications for companies are discussed in these pages.

A theoretical framework for the social pillar of lean

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework for the social pillar of lean (SPL), which is a neglected topic in the lean management literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors first identify shortcomings in research on the SPL that are attributable to neglect of relevant perspectives in organisational research. The authors then present a theoretical case outlining the factors that should be considered in SPL research, how they relate to one another and how they should be integrated in future studies of lean change implementation.

Findings

The theoretical framework for the SPL proposes a categorisation of factors and their relationships across levels of analysis that are relevant to the SPL. The inclusion of previously neglected perspectives, such as the relational coordination theory, within this framework offers new insights and directions for research.

Practical implications

By emphasising relationships, the SPL framework sheds light on the scale and complexity of the management challenges involved in lean implementation.

Originality/value

The proposed framework promises to enhance the efficacy of lean research by focussing on factors, such as relationships, that are most relevant to lean implementation.

Which transformational leadership behaviors relate to organizational learning processes?

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the relationship between behaviors associated with transformational leadership (TL) and the sub-processes of organizational learning (OL) and to explain these relationships based on the ability-motivation-opportunity (AMO) framework.

Design/methodology/approach

Questionnaires assessing leadership behaviors and unit learning processes were filled in by 520 employees from 30 units within 9 organizations.

Findings

Each sub-process of OL was found to be related to different leadership behaviors. For example, distribution was related to TL components directed toward developing followers’ ability (i.e. vision and intellectual stimulation) and created the opportunity to share knowledge (i.e. supportive leadership). On the other hand, the TL components found to be related to interpretation were those that enhance followers’ motivation to work well in a group (i.e. inspirational communication and personal recognition).

Research limitations/implications

Showing that specific TL behaviors are related to different OL sub-processes emphasizes the importance of each OL sub-process as a distinct outcome. In addition, this study begins to address the possible mechanisms that may explain why specific factors enhance some OL sub-processes, but not others.

Practical implications

The study’s findings will assist managers and HR practitioners in recognizing which leadership behaviors are to be enhanced to help address particular sub-processes of OL that need improvement.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to examine the fine-tuned relationships between TL and OL and thus adds another explanation regarding why organizations differ in their learning processes and in their eventual outcomes, such as performance and innovation.

What’s love got to do with it? Employee engagement amongst higher education workers

Employee engagement is an important construct in management research as engaged employees not only perform better in their jobs but also feel happier and more fulfilled in the workplace. Employee engagement is a function of the job resources employees have in coping with their job demands. This paper makes a threefold contribution to the existing engagement literature by: (1) exploring this construct with a sample of third-level academics in the Irish public sector – a relatively unmapped sample in engagement research, (2) identifying organisational support as a key job resource that enables academics to cope with their job demands and (3) proposing that employee engagement reflects how strongly an employee puts his or her heart into work – suggesting a reconceptualization of engagement as love. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Psychological contract breach and turnover intention: the moderating effects of social status and local ties

The aim of this study is to examine whether social networks reduce the effects of psychological contract breach on an employee’s intention to leave the organisation. This paper focusses on two particular elements of the social network in an organisation: (1) social status and (2) local ties/connectedness. Using a sample of 242 responses from officers in the Irish Defence Forces, the results provide empirical evidence of the impact of psychological contract breach on officer turnover intentions. The results also demonstrate that perceptions of social networks moderate the relationship between psychological contract breach and turnover intentions through social status. Contrary to expectations, strong connectedness with senior officers was also found to be a moderator but not in the direction that was hypothesised. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Organisational change and the psychological contract at a pharmaceutical company

Orientation: Over a period of 6 years, a South African pharmaceutical company had been involved in several mergers and acquisitions. These changes had proved difficult for staff and staff attrition had risen.Research purpose: The objective of the study was to explore the perceptions of senior managers about the impact of change on the psychological contract. The sub-objectives were to determine what organisational factors contribute to changes in the psychological contract during periods of change, and the implications of the breach of the psychological contract for the company and its employees.Motivation for the study: As the company was set to embark on further mergers and acquisitions, the opinions of senior managers about how such changes should be addressed are important for the company.Research design, approach and method: A case study approach was used in this qualitative study. The population comprised 60 senior managers of whom 12 were purposefully selected for inclusion in the study. A semistructured interview schedule was used to capture the views of these managers and themes were extracted by means of content analysis.Main findings: Seven themes emerged which encapsulated the perceptions of senior managers about the impact of change on the psychological contract during periods of mergers and acquisitions – lack of communication, an absence of planning, lack of employee engagement, less than optimal human resources involvement, lack of preparation of the organisational culture and poor change management processes. These factors need to be addressed to strengthen the psychological contract of employees during periods of change.Practical/managerial implications: The study highlighted areas that leaders and managers of the company should consider when embarking on mergers and acquisitions if the psychological contract of employees is not to be negatively impacted.Contribution: While caution must be exercised in the generalisation of the findings, companies in the same industry or those in other industries could use the findings as points of departure for considering the elements that should be addressed in change initiatives.

Indirect effect of management support on users' compliance behaviour towards information security policies

BACKGROUND

Health information systems are innovative products designed to improve the delivery of effective healthcare, but they are also vulnerable to breaches of information security, including unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification or destruction, and duplication of passwords. Greater openness and multi-connectedness between heterogeneous stakeholders within health networks increase the security risk.

OBJECTIVE

The focus of this research was on the indirect effects of management support (MS) on user compliance behaviour (UCB) towards information security policies (ISPs) among health professionals in selected Malaysian public hospitals. The aim was to identify significant factors and provide a clearer understanding of the nature of compliance behaviour in the health sector environment.

METHOD

Using a survey design and stratified random sampling method, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 454 healthcare professionals in three hospitals. Drawing on theories of planned behaviour, perceived behavioural control (self-efficacy (SE) and MS components) and the trust factor, an information system security policies compliance model was developed to test three related constructs (MS, SE and perceived trust (PT)) and their relationship to UCB towards ISPs.

RESULTS

Results showed a 52.8% variation in UCB through significant factors. Partial least squares structural equation modelling demonstrated that all factors were significant and that MS had an indirect effect on UCB through both PT and SE among respondents to this study.

CONCLUSION

The research model based on the theory of planned behaviour in combination with other human and organisational factors has made a useful contribution towards explaining compliance behaviour in relation to organisational ISPs, with trust being the most significant factor. In adopting a multidimensional approach to management-user interactions via multidisciplinary concepts and theories to evaluate the association between the integrated management-user values and the nature of compliance towards ISPs among selected health professionals, this study has made a unique contribution to the literature.

Global talent management

Purpose

– Despite the widely acknowledged relevance of global talent management (GTM) to business strategy, its activity and scope are not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for GTM and specifies the main components: strategy, practices, experiences and systems. Complementing the framework, a multiple-actors model is introduced identifying actors participant in the talent system. Specification of the GTM system frames future research of components and outcomes, informs management practice and is of particular relevance to management of global mobility (GM) by multiple actors.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper introduces a strategic framework for GTM and corresponding multiple-actors model extending the GTM, strategic human resource management (SHRM) and GM literatures. A systems view of GTM is presented, founded on social exchange amongst actors. System components and actor roles are specified.

Findings

– GTM is articulated as a coherent set of activities within an integrated system. Actors centrally involved in co-creation of the talent system are identified.

Research limitations/implications

– Presenting an internal view, the framework excludes external influences such as talent markets. Empirical study is required. An approach is outlined.

Practical implications

– The framework and model provide management with a strategic approach to GTM and a tool for management enquiry in their challenge to operationalise GTM.

Originality/value

– The framework deepens the understanding of GTM, extends the GM literature debate of managing expatriate talent to a wider system perspective and sheds light on the intended-actual gap noted in SHRM literature. The multiple-actors model re-positions the employee at the centre of talent management.

Responsible Leadership: A Missing Link

Aguinis and Glavas (2013) ask, “When and why does CSR lead to positive outcomes for employees, organizations, and society?” Although the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is elusive and comprises a wide range of definitions, there is convergence on the voluntary nature of these actions. But who implements these voluntary initiatives? CSR will take effect, as Aguinis and Glavas point out, at micro levels, through the actions of lower-level units and employees. Thus, there is a need to specify mechanisms by which macro-level CSR policies result in microlevel outcomes.