Laissez-Faire Leadership and Affective Commitment: the Roles of Leader-Member Exchange and Subordinate Relational Self-concept

Beliefs, mindset and personality of farm managers working in large commercial dairy herds: Association with calf on-farm mortality

This study aimed to describe the attitudes and personalities of farm managers (FMs) in large Estonian dairy herds and analyse the potential associations with calf mortality. The study included FMs from 114 free-stall farms with at least 100 cows. Each participant completed a questionnaire that comprised questions about the respondent and various statements to reveal their attitudes towards calves, calf mortality, and farming in general. A 7-point Likert scale was used to record the responses. The data on the number of live births and deaths and animal movement data were gathered from farm records and the Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board. The yearly calf mortality risk (%) during the first 21 days (YAG) and mortality rate between 22-90 days of age (OAG) adjusted for the animal time-at-risk were then calculated for each herd. Univariate negative binomial regression analysis was used to identify associations between calf mortality risk/rate, and the studied statements and variables with a p-value < 0.25 were included in a k-modes clustering analysis. The mean calf mortality risk was determined to be 5.9 % (range 0.0-26.8 %) during the first 21 days and mean calf mortality rate was 1.8 (range 0.0-9.2) deaths per 100 calf-months during 22-90 days of age. In both age group analyses, two FMs´ clusters formed based on 17 pre-selected statements. The FMs of the high-mortality cluster were found to be dissatisfied with the calf mortality levels. In the YAG analysis, FMs from high-mortality cluster gave lower priority to the issue of calf mortality, placed high importance on the influence of workers on calf mortality, and were more satisfied with the staff's performance compared to FMs of the cluster of herds with lower calf mortality. They were additionally less satisfied with their own performance and felt less recognized by the farm staff. They were also more inclined to try new products and practices on the farm and demonstrated greater empathy towards cattle. In the OAG analysis, the FMs from the higher-mortality cluster viewed reducing calf mortality more costly, had a less ambitious and target-driven management style, and rated their self-performance lower. This study determined that FMs working in herds with high calf mortality were dissatisfied and did not prioritize addressing calf mortality compared to managers working in farms with lower calf mortality. FMs' attitudes and management styles were associated with calf mortality, while the respondents' personality traits had little influence.

The impact of middle managers' digital leadership on employee work engagement

Background

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, the role of middle managers in organizational structures and processes is increasingly pivotal. Positioned at the nexus of strategic directives and operational execution, they play an important role in driving digital transformation. This study discusses the under examined domain of middle managers' digital leadership and its impact on employee work engagement in the context of digital transformation.

Design

Drawing on Social Exchange Theory, this study investigates the influence of middle managers' digital leadership on employee work engagement through the analysis of survey data from 559 respondents across 11 listed companies in Southwest China. It examines the roles of employee empowerment and affective commitment as pivotal mediating variables and investigates the moderating effect of emotional intelligence in these relationships.

Research purposes

The study aims to elucidate the mechanisms by which middle managers' digital leadership fosters employee work engagement, highlighting the importance of emotional intelligence, empowerment, and affective commitment in this process.

Findings

The study reveals that middle managers' digital leadership has a significant positive impact on employee work engagement. Employee empowerment and affective commitment serve as mediating factors in the relationship between middle managers' digital leadership and employee work engagement. Emotional intelligence moderates the effect of middle managers' digital leadership on employee empowerment. Meanwhile, emotional intelligence further moderates the chain mediating of employee empowerment and affective commitment between middle managers' digital leadership and employees' work engagement.

Implications

This research offers valuable insights into the dynamics of leadership and engagement in the digital era, emphasizing the need for organizations to foster digital leadership capabilities in middle management. It provides practical implications for enhancing employee work engagement through strategic digital leadership, emphasizing the role of employee empowerment, affective commitment and emotional intelligence in adapting to digital transformation.

Role of laissez-faire leadership in talent management: Evidence from the pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh

Laissez-faire leadership is mainly perceived as zero leadership, and research on it is relatively scant compared with other dominant approaches to leadership. Although the adverse effects of laissez-faire leadership have been well examined, its influence on talent management (TM) has been undiscovered. This study assessed the impact of laissez-faire leadership on TM strategies, including talent attraction, retention, engagement, and development. Data were collected from 460 employees of pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh using judgmental sampling. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized relationships between laissez-faire leadership and TM strategies using social exchange theory. This study found positive effects of laissez-faire leadership on talent attraction, retention, development, and engagement. These findings suggest that if talented employees are given freedom, they tend to engage and secure more opportunities for self-directed development by solving problems independently. This study contributes to the understanding of how laissez-faire leadership may constructively affect TM in the context of a developing economy's pharmaceutical industry. Finally, this study provides recommendations for practitioners of pharmaceutical companies to improve their strategic choices regarding laissez-faire leadership to ensure better TM strategy practices.

The dark and bright side of laissez-faire leadership: Does subordinates’ goal orientation make a difference?

Laissez-faire leadership is universally considered to be the most ineffective leadership style. However, a few recent studies revealed that laissez-faire leadership may have modest or even significant positive influence on subordinates’ work outcomes. To explain the inconsistent findings of laissez-faire leadership studies, the current study draws on stress theory and achievement goal theory to examine the boundary conditions and mechanisms underlying the impact of laissez-faire leadership on subordinates, cognitive appraisal and subsequent performance. Results from an experience sampling study of 68 supervisor-subordinate dyads that completed daily surveys over 10 consecutive work days indicated that: (1) when subordinates’ learning goal orientation is high, the relationship between laissez-faire leadership and hindrance appraisal will be positive; the indirect relationship between laissez-faire leadership and subordinates’ performance via subordinates’ hindrance appraisal will be negative; and (2) when subordinates’ performance-prove or performance-avoid goal orientation is high, the relationship between laissez-faire leadership and challenge appraisal will be positive; the indirect relationship between laissez-faire leadership and subordinates’ performance via subordinates’ challenge appraisal will be positive. This study found the double-edged sword effect of laissez-faire leadership at within-person level, which helps integrate inconsistent views in previous studies and explore the impact of laissez-faire leadership from a more nuanced and balanced perspective.

How to Prevent Hostile Behaviors and Emotional Exhaustion among Law Enforcement Professionals: The Negative Spiral of Role Conflict

The nature and characteristics of the current work environment of law enforcement professionals point out role-conflict situations as one of the main reasons leading to the occurrence of hostile behaviors and the worsening of employees' well-being. Precisely, this research analyzes the mediating role of role conflict between laissez-faire leadership and hostility or police professionals' emotional exhaustion. To mitigate the negative effects of role-conflict situations, the moderating role of certain personal resources such as self-efficacy, and organizational variables such as interactional justice, the meaning of the work and family-work enrichment is also analyzed. Structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis are used in a sample of 180 police professionals. The results show that role conflict fully and positively mediates the relationships between laissez-faire leadership and hostile behaviors or emotional exhaustion. Moreover, self-efficacy and interactional justice moderates the relationship between laissez-faire leadership and role conflict; the meaning of the work moderates the relationships between role conflict and hostile behaviors, and family-work enrichment moderates the relationship between role conflict and employees' emotional exhaustion. The huge relevance of the work of law enforcement professionals and its implications for society justify this research, which aims to highlight the importance of avoiding role-conflict situations to improve labor welfare and prevent counterproductive and unhealthy behaviors.

Distinct leadership styles and differential effectiveness across culture: An analysis of South African business leaders

Orientation: While some deem business leadership practices as universal, others judge them to be specific to a cultural context, arguing that certain leadership styles are specific to, for example, those from an African or a Western cultural background.Research purpose: The goal of the research was to assess whether the leadership styles of South African leaders differ based on cultural background and whether the effectiveness of these leadership styles is judged differently by subordinates.Motivation for the study: South Africa is sometimes presented as country divided across cultural lines. This research was motivated by the need to assess the extent of this divide and the impact thereof on perceived effectiveness.Research approach and method: A cross-sectional survey was collected from 1140 respondents across 19 organisations. Leadership styles and leader effectiveness was measured, and race was used as a proxy to cultural background. Mean scores on leadership styles and leadership effectiveness were calculated per race and mean score differences were tested.Main findings: The result of this study suggest that leaders in South Africa are perceived to behave similarly in terms of their leadership styles and the effectiveness thereof. Thus, those African and Western cultural backgrounds act similarly, and the outcomes (effectiveness) was comparable.Managerial implications and value add: The cultural divide within the context of leadership styles and effectiveness is small in South Africa, and the results supports the notion that organisations and leaders should set aside culturally based stereotypes when engaging in leadership issues.

Understanding the Link Between Work-Related and Non-Work-Related Supervisor–Subordinate Relationships and Affective Commitment: The Mediating and Moderating Roles of Psychological Safety

Purpose

Based on social information processing (SIP) model and conservation of resources (COR) theory, this paper is to examine the mediating and moderating roles of psychological safety (PS) in the relationship between work-related leader-member exchange (LMX)/non-work-related supervisor-subordinate guanxi (SSG) and employee affective commitment (AC).

Participants and Methods

Cross-sectional data came from 213 enterprise employees in China. The participants completed the LMX scale, SSG scale, PS scale, and AC scale. SPSS PROCESS macro and RWA-Web were used to test the research hypothesis.

Results

Both LMX and SSG were positively related to employee AC. LMX was more strongly associated with AC than SSG. PS partially mediated the influence of LMX/SSG on AC. PS negatively moderated the influence of LMX on AC, whereas it did not moderate the influence of SSG on AC.

Conclusion

Different types of supervisor-subordinate relationships (SSR) were both beneficial to employee AC, and work-related LMX was more closely related to employee AC. Different types of SSR could both affect employee AC through PS. In addition, high PS also reduced the relationship between LMX and employee AC. Therefore, in the context of Chinese culture, enhancing employees’ AC within an enterprise can not only pay attention to the work-related LMX and non-work-related SSG but also the appropriate cultivation of employees’ PS.

Leadership Selection with the Fuzzy Topsis Method in the Hospitality Sector in Sultanahmet Region

The changing perception towards leadership reveals that different leadership types are felt to be needed to deal with different problems that modern organizations face. Even though there is lots of research which focuses on the effects of different leadership types on organizations’ performance, there is no research to be found which only focuses on employees’ perceptions. Therefore, this paper aimed to figure out the most important leadership characteristic for employees and their choice of leaders to work with. In order to reach these goals, a two-sectioned survey was given to eight hospitality employees in the Sultanahmet Region. Since the evaluations of the employees are subjective, the answers were analyzed with the Fuzzy TOPSIS method by transfiguring the verbal assessments of the participants into numbers to ease the decision-making process. With regard to the results, the most important leadership characteristics discovered were: being a guide to the followers, being capable of creating mission and vision, and encouraging the followers. According to employees’ leader choices, the results showed that the hospitality employees in the Sultanahmet region mostly want to work with Transformational Leaders. Considering the implementation and the results, this paper is important as a pioneering study, which will fill the gap in the literature about investigating employees’ leadership preferences and choices.

Leadership Style, Work Engagement and Organizational Commitment Among Nurses in Saudi Arabian Hospitals

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how nurse managers’ leadership styles, work engagement, and nurses’ organizational commitment are related in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

This study used a cross-sectional design using an online survey instrument targeted at nurse managers and nurses working in Saudi Arabian hospitals. Multi-factor leadership questionnaire (MLQ), organizational commitment questionnaire (OCQ), and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) were used in the Questionnaire. The survey link is forwarded to HR administrators of 71 hospitals, which includes public, private, and public–private partnership hospitals. The survey link was active from 27th November 2021 to 18th December 2021, and at the end of the survey, 394 responses were received. After removing the incomplete responses, 390 participant responses are considered for data analysis. t-tests and correlation analysis are used to analyze the data.

Results

Among the participants, 84.4% of the participants were nurses and 15.6% were nurse managers. Significant difference (p < 0.05) of opinions is observed among nurse managers in relation to transformational and transactional leadership styles and engagement. Transformational and transactional leaderships are positively correlated with organizational commitment and nurses’ engagement.

Conclusion

Differences in leadership style perceptions among nurses and nurse managers reflected issues in nursing management, which have to be addressed in light of rapid infrastructural changes owing to Saudi vision 2030.

Work engagement, affective commitment, and career satisfaction: the mediating role of knowledge sharing in context of SIEs

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine linkages between work engagement, affective commitment, and career satisfaction, while probing the mediating role of knowledge sharing in context of self-initiated- expatriates (SIEs).

Design/methodology/approach

A mediation model was tested using survey data from 266 SIEs working in US information technology (IT) multinational corporations (MNCs).

Findings

The results revealed significant direct and indirect effects of work engagement on affective commitment and career satisfaction through knowledge sharing.

Research limitations/implications

Although common method bias and validity of measurement were assessed in this study, the survey data were cross-sectional. Rigorous testing of the proposed mediated model through longitudinal design must be undertaken to allow for stronger inferences about causation.

Practical implications

The results suggest that organizations must nurture a knowledge sharing culture to promote knowledge exchange amongst SIEs. This study also underscores the importance of SIEs' work engagement as an enabler of knowledge sharing. Managers have a critical role in creating the right work environment, where SIEs feel engaged in their work and motivated to share knowledge.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine interlinkages between work engagement, knowledge sharing, affective commitment and career satisfaction in SIEs' context.