Creativity under workload pressure and integrative complexity: The double-edged sword of paradoxical leadership

Unveiling the Nexus: Influence of learning motivation on organizational performance and innovative climate of Chinese firms

This study delves into the interplay between learning motivation, organizational performance, and the innovative climate within Chinese firms. It is a subject of frequent discussion in literature but there is little concrete evidence supporting this viewpoint within the context of small and medium size enterprises in China. Drawing upon a comprehensive review of existing literature and empirical data gathered, this research aims to uncover the connections between employee learning motivation and its impact on the organizational dynamics in the context of Chinese firms. A cross sectional survey is used to collect the data of 115 Chinese firms and structural equation modelling (SEM) is used for empirical analysis. The results show that success of firms in terms of innovation is significantly influenced by organizational learning motivation. Moreover, innovative environment of the firms increases the overall performance of the organizations. It is also found that factors affecting the innovations have a significant impact on organizational performance. The findings of the study suggest that firms should develop organizational learning motivation to boost their innovation capability and overall performance. This study offers insights and recommendations for organizations and policymakers seeking to harness the potential of learning motivation to drive sustainable growth, competitiveness, and innovation in Chinese firms.

Does paradoxical leadership influence employees' proactive work behavior? A study based on employees in Chinese state-owned enterprises

Paradoxical leadership has emerged as an increasingly important research topic in the context of Chinese state-owned enterprises, which are currently facing contradictions between maintaining stability and implementing changes, short-term profits and long-term sustainable development, and public nature and marketization. Based on social cognitive theory and social exchange theory, this study employed a questionnaire survey to explore the influence of paradoxical leadership on employees' proactive work behavior and the mediating role of superior-subordinate guanxi and self-efficacy. The study involved 540 employees working in Chinese state-owned enterprises. We conducted confirmatory factor analyses to test the validity of the measurement model and regression to evaluate the direct effects. Subsequently, we used bootstrapping to confirm mediation and serial mediation effects. The study found that (1) Paradoxical leadership can effectively enhance employees' proactive work behavior; (2) The superior-subordinate guanxi plays a mediating role between paradoxical leadership and employees' proactive work behavior, that is, paradoxical leadership enhances employees' proactive work behavior by improving the superior-subordinate guanxi; (3) Self-efficacy plays a mediating role between paradoxical leadership and employees' proactive work behaviors, that is, paradoxical leadership promotes employees' proactive work behavior by enhancing their self-efficacy; (4) The superior-subordinate guanxi and self-efficacy play a chain mediating effect between paradoxical leadership and employees' proactive work behavior, forming a chain of "Paradoxical leadership-Superior-subordinate Guanxi-Self-efficacy-Employees' proactive work behaviors." This study enriches the theoretical research on paradoxical leadership and provides suggestions for state-owned enterprises to enhance employees' proactive work behavior.

Current research trends on cognition, integrative complexity, and decision-making: a systematic literature review using activity theory and neuroscience

Introduction

This article presents a systematic literature review that follows the PRISMA and PICOS guidelines to analyze current research trends on cognition, integrative complexity (IC) (a cognitive feature focusing on information processing in a person's response rather than its quantity or quality), and decision-making from the perspectives of activity theory and neuroscience.

Methods

The study examines 31 papers published between 2012 and 2022 and 19 articles specifically related to neuroscience. We performed a content analysis using six categories within activity theory: subjects, objects, rules, community, division of labor, and outcomes.

Results

The study investigates the relationship between decision-making outcomes and IC as a cognitive feature in various contexts. Additionally, content analysis on neuroscience and IC revealed significant research gaps, including understanding the nature of IC, challenges related to its measurement, and differentiation from other cognitive features. We also identify opportunities for investigating the brain's activity during decision-making in relation to IC.

Discussion

We address the need for a more precise categorization of IC in studies of cognition, IC, and decision-making. We discuss the implications of our analysis for understanding the cognitive nature of IC and the potential of neuroscience methods for studying this attribute.

Exploring the Relationship between Academic Challenge Stress and Self-Rated Creativity of Graduate Students: Mediating Effects and Heterogeneity Analysis of Academic Self-Efficacy and Resilience

In the 21st century, creativity is a core competence and key thinking quality. Researchers and educators have been interested in exploring the effects of different stressors on individual creativity for decades. Using structural equation modeling and quantile regression, this study investigated the relationship between academic challenge stress and self-rated creativity of graduate students among 1210 Chinese graduate students. The study separately tested the mediating effect of resilience, the mediating effect of academic self-efficacy, and the chained mediating effect of both. This study analyzed the heterogeneity of the effects of academic challenge stress, academic self-efficacy, and resilience on self-rated creativity of different students. The research results showed that academic challenge stress had a direct positive effect on graduate students' self-rated creativity. The mediating effect of resilience and academic self-efficacy and the chain mediating effect were established. The quantile regression revealed a decreasing marginal benefit of academic challenge stress and resilience for self-rated creativity and an inverted U-shaped relationship between academic self-efficacy and self-rated creativity.

The lens of Yin-Yang philosophy: the influence of paradoxical leadership and emotional intelligence on nurses' organizational identification and turnover intention

PURPOSE

This study aims to use "both-and" thinking of Yin-Yang philosophy to extend the field of leadership literatures and explore the influences of paradoxical leadership and emotional intelligence on organizational identification and turnover intentions of nurses.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

The authors adopted a cross-sectional survey completed by 285 nurses in Taiwan. SPSS 22, PROCESS and AMOS 21 were used for data analysis.

FINDINGS

The results reveal that paradoxical leadership has a significant positive relationship with nurses' organizational identification and a significant negatively relationship with their turnover intentions, and organizational identification partially mediated the relationship between paradoxical leadership and turnover intentions. The results further show that emotional intelligence strengthens the effect of paradoxical leadership on organizational identification, and paradoxical leadership had a stronger indirect effect on turnover intentions through organizational identification under strong emotional intelligence.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

Paradoxical leadership can strengthen managers' abilities in dealing with interrelated and substantial issues and correspond to organizing and belonging paradoxes in holistic thinking processes. Health-care organizations must shape a coordinated institution and offer training initiatives to increase managers' ability and attitude to control organizational rules and procedures while allowing employees' flexibility and autonomy according to the requirements of the situation, which will maintain both organizational short-term benefits and long-term growth.

The Effects of Routinization on Radical and Incremental Creativity: The Mediating Role of Mental Workloads

An important question within the creativity literature is whether routinization inhibits individuals' creative performance. Scholars have concentrated on complex and demanding jobs that promote creativity while ignoring the potential effects of routinized activities on creativity. Moreover, little is known about the impact of routinization on creativity, and the few studies investigating this matter have reported inconclusive and inconsistent results. This study investigates the mixed impacts of routinization on creativity by examining whether routinization has a direct impact on two dimensions of creativity or an indirect impact through the mediating role of mental workloads, such as mental effort load, time load, and psychological stress load. Based on multisource and time-lagged data from 213 employee-supervisor dyads, we found a positive direct effect of routinization on incremental creativity. In addition, routinization had both an indirect effect on radical creativity via time load and on incremental creativity via mental effort load. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Corporate social responsibility and frontline employees’ service improvisation: The mediating role of self-efficacy

The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to frontline employees in tourism enterprises. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fulfillment of corporate social responsibility is of great significance. Based on the social cognitive theory, a conceptual framework was established to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility and tourism service improvisation, along with the mediating role of self-efficiency. A total of 405 self-administered questionnaires were collected through three times. The results revealed that frontline employees’ perception of corporate social responsibility had a significant positive impact on self-efficacy and service improvisation, as well as self-efficacy had a significant positive impact on service improvisation. Meanwhile, self-efficacy played a partial mediating role in the relationship between corporate social responsibility and service improvisation. Theoretical and practical implications, along with limitations and future research directions, were discussed.

The “Double-Edged Sword” Effects of LMX Ambivalence———An Integrated Model of Two Approaches Based on Cognitive Flexibility and Job Anxiety

Purpose

Bootleg Innovation helps enterprises create unconventional innovation achievements, and has gradually become an important approach for radical innovation under the background of open innovation. Through the integration of the cognitive-affective processing system and conservation of resources (COR) theory, the present study takes integrative complexity as a moderator, and explores the mechanism of LMX ambivalence on employees’ bootleg innovation.

Participants and Methods

A total of 387 employees and 110 supervising managers participated in the two-wave dyadic survey. To test our hypotheses, we performed the hierarchical regression and conducted bootstrapping analyses to test our hypotheses.

Results

Findings indicated that LMX ambivalence not only improves employees’ cognitive flexibility and promotes bootleg innovation, but also aggravates employees’ job anxiety and hinders bootleg innovation. In addition, integrative complexity significantly moderates the above two mediating paths. Specifically, when integrative complexity was higher, the negative mediating effect of job anxiety was attenuated, and the positive mediating effect of cognitive flexibility was enhanced.

Conclusion

Contrasting with previous research, this research analyzed the triggering mechanism of bootleg innovation combined with the dynamic interaction of environmental stimulus, emotion and cognition. The findings provide novel insight into how to achieve bootleg innovation.

Team idiosyncratic deals and team breakthrough innovation: Based on the perspective of input-process-output model

Purpose

As a new human resource management practice, idiosyncratic deals are personalized employment arrangements negotiated between employees and employers and intended to benefit them both. It plays an important role in attracting, retaining and motivating employees to promote breakthrough innovation. Based on the input-process-output (I-P-O) model, this paper examines the relationship between team idiosyncratic deals and team breakthrough innovation, the mediating role of team exploratory-exploitative knowledge sharing, and the moderating roles of team transactive memory systems and team cognitive flexibility.

Participants and methods

In order to reduce the effects of common method biases and causal lag effect, this study is divided into three stages for data collection, with a time interval of 1 month. Eighty teams (406 employees) from six enterprises in Shanghai and Hangzhou were selected as samples, and the hypothesis test was carried out by hierarchical regression analysis, bootstrap, and Johnson-Neyman method.

Results

The results show that higher team idiosyncratic deals are associated with higher team breakthrough innovation through higher team exploratory-exploitative knowledge sharing, and that team transactive memory systems and team cognitive flexibility positively moderate the mediating effect of team exploratory-exploitative knowledge sharing in the relationship between team idiosyncratic deals and team breakthrough innovation in the first stage and the second stage, respectively. Under the joint effect of high team transactive memory systems and high team cognitive flexibility, the mediating effect of team exploratory-exploitative knowledge sharing is stronger.

Conclusion

The research results break through the previous research framework of social exchange theory, and I-P-O model to explore the influence mechanism of team idiosyncratic deals, in order to promote the sustainable growth of team breakthrough innovation through this non-standard work arrangement. It is hoped that this research can inspire modern enterprises to create team idiosyncratic deals for valuable teams engaged in breakthrough innovation, which are more conducive to give full play to their heterogeneous talents, and finally help enterprises break through the industry bottleneck and win the market competition.

Living with tensions in the workplace: a grounded theory of paradoxical leadership in cultivating subordinates' paradox mindset

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process of how paradoxical leadership cultivates subordinates' paradox mindset.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used the grounded theory approach. Data collection included semi-structured interviews and observations from eleven top managers and their six subordinates in five Chinese organizations. Managers and their subordinates were asked how they perceived and dealt with tensions in the workplace.

Findings

Paradoxical leadership promotes subordinates' paradox mindset by helping them learn to face, cope, and live with tensions. First, paradoxical leaders acted as role models for their subordinates and directly influenced followers' attitudes, motivation, and positive psychological states towards tensions. Moreover, when managers help their subordinates reduce stress and anxiety and build confidence, followers learn to cope with tensions. Consequently, subordinates' capacity to live with tensions is increased and they develop the paradox mindset.

Practical implications

The results imply that reducing subordinates' stress and anxiety and building their confidence can be integrated into work practices and training, which provide insights for managers to cultivate their subordinates' paradox mindset.

Originality/value

This paper investigates how paradoxical leadership impacts and cultivates subordinates' paradox mindset in a tension-setting work environment. The findings not only provide fresh insights into the detailed process of developing employees' paradox mindset but also deepen the understanding of the leader–follower relationship.

Someone Must be Mindful: Trait Mindfulness as a Boundary Condition for Paradoxical Leader Behaviors

Despite increased interest in the role of paradox in organizations, our understanding of paradoxical leader behavior (PLB) remains limited. We analyze PLB through the lens of cognitive dissonance theory and argue that trait mindfulness represents an important boundary condition shaping the effectiveness of PLB as a leadership style. This research sheds light on mindfulness and PLB, by investigating whether leader and follower trait mindfulness changes the impact of PLB on follower performance. Our analyses of multilevel, multisource, and multiphase data from 561 employees working in 54 teams show that PLB is positively related to follower performance when followers have high trait mindfulness. Furthermore, when followers and leaders are both low on trait mindfulness, PLB hurts follower performance. We thereby advance research on managing paradox, trait mindfulness, and the effectiveness of paradoxical leader behaviors for promoting follower performance.

Leader boundary-spanning behavior and creative behavior: the role of need for status and creative self-efficacy

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to examine the positive relationship between leader's boundary-spanning behavior and employee creative behavior. Moreover, the research investigates a three-way effect by exploring leader's boundary-spanning behavior, need for status and creative self-efficacy on employee creative behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a cross-sectional survey involving 260 supervisor-subordinate dyads from various companies in South Korea. The research tests the hypotheses through a hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

The authors provided empirical evidence that leader's boundary-spanning behavior positively related to employee creative behavior. Moreover, the result demonstrated that the effect of leader's boundary-spanning behavior on creative behavior was the strongest in the context of high need for status and high creative self-efficacy.

Research limitations/implications

The research contributes to the three streams of literature on boundary spanning, creativity, and leadership by exploring leaders' boundary-spanning behavior, employees' need for status, and employees' creative self-efficacy.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that organizations should promote leaders' boundary-spanning behavior, thereby enhancing employees' creative behavior. Also, the study highlights the critical role of individual factors, such as the need for status and creative self-efficacy, and situational factors that determine the level of creative behavior.

Originality/value

Integrating the componential model of creativity and the interactionist perspective of creativity, this research examines the positive influence of leaders' boundary-spanning behavior on creative behavior. Furthermore, the research exhibits how leader's boundary-spanning behavior, need for status and creative self-efficacy could develop creative conditions to promote employee creative behavior.

Research on the Influencing Mechanism of Paradoxical Leadership on Unethical Pro-Supervisor Behavior

Paradoxical leadership is a leadership style that combines both employees’ individual needs and organizational requirements. The existing literature shows that paradoxical leadership has a positive influence on variables at the individual level, team level and organizational level. It is necessary to further explore the negative impact of paradoxical leadership on the individual level (such as employees’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior), the path of influence and situational conditions. Based on social exchange theory, this paper studied the influence of paradoxical leadership on employees’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior, and clarified the mediating role of supervisor–subordinate Guanxi and the moderating effect of follower mindfulness. We conducted an empirical analysis on the data of 356 employees collected in two phases, and found that paradoxical leadership exerts a significant positive effect on unethical pro-supervisor behavior; supervisor–subordinate Guanxi has a partial mediating effect on the relationship between paradoxical leadership and unethical pro-supervisor behavior; and follower mindfulness moderates the influence of paradoxical leadership on supervisor–subordinate Guanxi, and moderates the intermediation of supervisor–subordinate Guanxi on the main effect. This paper enriches the existing research on the mechanism of influence of paradoxical leadership and deepens our understanding of boundary conditions in relation to the role of paradoxical leadership.

Paradoxical leadership and employee innovation: Organization-based self-esteem and harmonious passion as sequential mediators

We applied self-concept theory and self-determination theory and proposed that the relationship between paradoxical leadership and employee innovation would be sequentially mediated by organizationbased self-esteem and harmonious passion. We tested our hypotheses by surveying 374 full-time employees in China and adopting structural equation modeling. The results indicate that paradoxical leadership was positively associated with employees' organization-based self-esteem, harmonious passion, and innovation. Moreover, the positive effect of paradoxical leadership on employees' innovation behavior was sequentially mediated by organization-based self-esteem and harmonious passion. Our findings advance understanding of the mechanism underlying the relationship of paradoxical leadership with employees' innovation behavior, and provide a meaningful extension of the leadership literature. We discuss implications for theory and practice.

Job and work context elements in fostering employee creative behavior: exploring the moderating role of work passion

How does employees' work context and job characteristics influence their creative behavior? To explore this question, this study draws on the Job Demands – Job Resources (JD-R) model to examine the role of excessive work overload and training and development on employee creative behaviors. Additionally, the study explores whether employees' work passion mitigates or enhances the effects of work overload and training and development on their creative behavior. Data from 142 employee–supervisor dyads in a Singaporean telecommunications organization showed that work overload had a marginally significant positive effect on employee creative behavior. Additionally, employees' work passion was found to enhance the effects of training and development on their creative behavior. The study contributes to ongoing debates in the literature regarding how specific characteristics of one's job and targeted human resource practices may foster employee creativity.

In a team forgiveness climate, the influence of paradoxical thinking of leaders on the team voice behavior: Mediated by team cooperation

In order to clarify the influence of the paradoxical thinking of leaders on team voice behavior, a moderating mediation model was constructed to explore the mediating role of team cooperation and the moderating effect of team forgiveness climate based on the social exchange theory. Based on the "leader-employee" matching data of 477 employees from 101 teams, SPSS (Statistic Package for Social Science) and AMOS (a macro-micro model of Scotland) were used to analyze the three-stage data linear regression. The research conclusions indicate that: (1) The paradoxical thinking of leaders positively affects team voice behavior; (2) Team cooperation plays a completely mediating role in the relationship between the paradoxical thinking of leaders and team voice behavior; (3) The team forgiveness climate positively moderates the relationship between the paradoxical thinking of leaders and team cooperation, which means that their positive relationship is stronger in a higher forgiveness climate; (4) The team forgiveness climate moderates the mediating role of team cooperation between the paradoxical thinking of leaders and team voice behavior. Compared with a lower forgiveness climate, this moderating mediating effect is significant at a higher forgiveness level. This study clarifies the connection of the paradoxical thinking of leaders to the team voice behavior through team cooperation and has practical insights into how a team forgiveness climate promotes the team voice behavior.

The Science of Leadership: A Theoretical Model and Research Agenda

I review the empirical literature on leadership, focusing on papers published since 2010. To do so, I introduce a framework composed of two features: whether theories ( a) involve the study of leaders or leading (i.e., the person versus the process) and ( b) conceptualize leadership as a cause or a consequence (i.e., an independent versus dependent variable). This framework can enable future research to accumulate in a more programmatic fashion and help scholars determine where their own studies are located within the landscape of leadership research. I end the review by critically evaluating existing work, arguing that the most popular subcategory of leadership research—lumped conceptualizations of leading, in which scholars examine multiple leader behaviors within a single construct—has significant limitations and may need to be replaced by a greater focus on split conceptualizations of leading, wherein scholars isolate single leader behaviors.

Paradoxical leadership as sensegiving: stimulating change-readiness and change-oriented performance

Purpose

Paradoxical leadership (PL) is an emerging perspective to understand how leaders help followers deal with paradoxical demands. Recently, the positive relationship between PL and follower performance was established. This paper builds on and extends this research by interpreting PL as sensegiving and developing theory about mediation in the relationship between PL and adaptive and proactive performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper develops a new measure for PL as sensegiving and provides a test of the mediation model with data from two different sources and two measurement times in a German company.

Findings

Multilevel mediation analysis (N = 154) supports the mediation model.

Originality/value

The paper presents sensegiving about paradox as a core element of PL, which informs the choice of change-readiness as mediator. This study also develops and validates a scale to measure PL in future research.

Paradoxical Leadership and Employee Task Performance: A Sense-Making Perspective

Paradoxical leadership has received increasing research attention in recent years. Yet, questions remain as to why and when paradoxical leadership is effective in promoting employee work outcomes. Drawing upon the sense-making perspective, we propose that paradoxical leadership enhances employee task performance by increasing employees' adaptability, and paradoxical leadership is more effective when employees have higher levels of Zhong Yong thinking and organizational identification. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a multi-source and multi-wave survey study among 235 employees and their supervisors in southern China. The results of the regression analyses fully support our hypotheses. In general, our findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms, as well as the boundary conditions, of the effect of paradoxical leadership. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Research on the Influence of Paradoxical Leadership on Compulsory Organizational Citizenship Behavior

PURPOSE

According to attribution theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between paradoxical leadership and employees' compulsory organizational citizenship behavior, research the mediating and moderating effects of work pressure perception and leadership member exchange differentiation.

PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS

The data collection work was carried out with 329 employees as the research object, and empirical tests were carried out using confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis methods.

RESULTS

The results of the empirical test show that: paradoxical leadership has a significant positive effect on employees' compulsory organizational citizenship behavior; work pressure perception plays a mediating role between paradoxical leadership and employee's compulsory organizational citizenship behavior; leadership member exchange differentiation plays a moderating role between paradoxical leadership and work pressure perception. Paradoxical leadership will lead employees to adopt compulsory organizational citizenship behavior. Moreover, organizations should reduce employees' perception of work pressure and leadership member exchange differentiation.

CONCLUSION

The results of the study provide positive suggestions for reducing the compulsory organizational citizenship behavior of employees by focusing on the behavior of paradoxical leadership, thereby promoting the improvement of corporate performance.

INNOVATIONS

1) The research on the influence of paradoxical leadership on compulsory organizational citizenship behavior reveals the "dark side" of the influence of paradoxical leadership on employee behavior. 2) By introducing work pressure perception, this paper reveals the mechanism of action between paradoxical leadership and compulsory organizational citizenship behavior, which provides a new research perspective for understanding the formation mechanism of employees adopting compulsory organizational citizenship behavior. 3) This paper confirms that leadership member exchange differentiation can positively moderate the relationship between paradoxical leadership and work pressure perception.

Affect-driven impact of paradoxical leadership on employee organizational citizenship behaviour

Paradoxical leadership is an emerging leadership style which describes leadership behaviours that are ostensibly contradictory but in reality are interrelated and address workplace demands simultaneously and over time. The present study is based on affective events theory (AET), which states that occurrences or events at work result in prompt positive or negative affect in employees. The purpose of the study is to examine the mediating role of positive affect on the relationship between paradoxical leadership and employee organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). We also examine the moderating role of procedural fairness on the relationship between employee positive affect and OCB. Data collected in two phases in small- and medium-sized Chinese companies indicate that positive affect fully mediates the relationship between paradoxical leadership and employee OCB, and this relationship was found to be stronger when procedural fairness was higher rather than lower. We provide theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

A Study on the Relationship Between Learning Motivation and Learning Effectiveness of Personnel Based on Innovation Capability

Under the impact of intense competition in the face of globalization, the enhancement of the quality of human capital has become the primary goal for enterprises reinforcing the competitiveness as well as the power for constant growth and profit creation. It is the well-known norm of enterprises as well as the standard of human resource management; the enhancement of capability is the key activity of enterprises as well as the common task for modern people. Work and learning run parallel in order to cope with the rapid accumulation and change of knowledge; furthermore, in addition to enterprises providing opportunities for education, employees are requested to constantly update their training. Employees in the high-tech industry in Shanxi Province, as the research objects, were distributed 500 copies of one standard questionnaire, where 384 valid copies were retrieved, with a retrieval rate of 77%. The research results illustrate significantly positive effects of (1) learning motivation on innovation capability, (2) innovation capability on learning effectiveness, and (3) learning motivation on learning effectiveness. According to the results, providing the high-tech industry with more effective education curriculum planning and arrangement is expected.

Looking at Team Improvised Adaptation Through a Paradoxical Lens: The Role of Team Plasticity

When time is of the essence and teams face unexpected contextual changes, they must adapt quickly, sometimes even in real time, that is, they may have to improvise. This paper adopts an inductive approach to explore how teams decide to engage in improvised adaptation, and what happens during those processes for improvisation to be successful. The study analyzes improvisation from the perspective of paradox theory and identifies six paradoxical tensions driven by these contexts: deployment, development, temporal, procedural, structural, and behavioral tensions. We propose a dynamic equilibrium model of team improvised adaptation that leads to team plasticity. By properly managing the paradoxical tensions emerging from the convergence of design and execution, teams become more plastic and able to cope with sudden change. These findings contribute to adaptation and improvisation literatures by delving into the adaptation process under the temporal and material confluence of design and execution.

Generic Paradoxical Tensions, Appraisals, Work Motivation, and Performance: Insights From a Weekly Repeated-Measures Study

Drawing on the paradox theory, the author developed a theoretical model of appraisal–motivational responses to generic paradoxical tensions. The author postulated that paradoxical tensions are appraised both as a challenge and as a threat, in turn prompting mixed effects, positive and negative, on performance. The dual effects of paradoxical tensions are explained by the intermittent role of motivation toward work and a dispositional boundary condition—individual' adaptability—cross-situation variability of behaviors. The results from an eight-wave weekly repeated measures study spanning a period of 2 months (N = 178, total observations = 1,355) provided support for the proposed theoretical model. By illuminating the nuanced intraindividual psychological process, the present study brings forward novel insights on cognitive appraisals and motivations of paradoxical tensions advancing microfoundation of the paradox research.

Paradoxical Leader Behaviors and Followers Overall Justice and Citizenship Behaviors: The Role of Renqing Perception and Trait Agreeableness

Purpose

Drawing on the uncertainty management theory, this study explores the relationships between paradoxical leader behaviors (PLB) and followers perceptions of overall justice and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), as well as the mediating role of two components of followers perceptions of renqing (affective interaction and discretionary consideration) and the moderating role of trait agreeableness.

Methods

This study employed two-wave surveys with the aim of reducing the potential risk of common method bias. Participants were 325 employees from seven enterprises located in Northern and Southwest China. A moderated-mediation path analysis based on Hayes’ Process Model was performed in AMOS to examine the hypotheses.

Results

Results from two-wave surveys of 325 Chinese employees indicated that PLB is positively related to followers perceptions of overall justice. Two components of followers perceptions of renqing significantly mediate the relationship between PLB and overall justice. Moreover, two components of perceptions of renqing and overall justice exert a serial mediation effect in the relationship of PLB and OCB. More importantly, followers trait agreeableness strengthens the effects of affective interaction on overall justice.

Conclusion

This study advances the current understandings of the influencing mechanisms between PLB and followers overall justice perceptions and OCB. It is suggested that leaders PLB will facilitate two components of followers perceptions of renqing first, then boost their perceptions of overall justice, which in turn leading to more OCB, especially for those followers who endorse more agreeableness.

Good or Bad? The Ambivalent Leader-Follower Relationships

Researchers have emphasized the positive and negative influences of ambivalent leader-follower relationships, but it is not clear when the ambivalent relationship is associated with good or bad influences. To answer this question, we reviewed the definition and identified 10 different types of ambivalent leader-follower relationships. Further, we demonstrate that the negative outcomes (more inflexibility, disengagement, and worse performance) can be explained by the workplace stressor perspective, and that the positive outcomes (more flexibility, engagement, and better performance) can be explained by paradox view. Finally, drawing from conservation of resources (COR) theory, we integrate workplace stressor framework and the paradox view to address when the ambivalent leader-follower relationship is beneficial or detrimental for followers. We proposed that the degree of ambivalence, support from the third party, and integrative complexity of follower will influence the possible positive or negative influences. Limitations and future directions were also discussed.

Predicting Nurses' Occupational Commitment and Turnover Intention: The Role of Autonomous Motivation and Supervisor and Coworker Behaviors

AIM

To examine whether supportive supervisor (transformational leadership) and coworker (autonomy-supportive) behaviors predict occupational commitment and turnover intention over time through autonomous motivation.

BACKGROUND

Nurse turnover is a serious issue in several countries, straining the efficiency of the healthcare system and compromising both the quality and accessibility of healthcare.

METHOD

Longitudinal data were collected over 12 months from 387 French-Canadian registered nurses. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesized model.

RESULTS

The relationships between predictors at Time 1 (supervisor and coworker behaviors) and occupational commitment and turnover intention at Time 2 are mediated by autonomous motivation at Time 1.

CONCLUSION

In times of global scarcity, the present findings provide insights into how the healthcare work environment acts on nurses' occupational turnover and commitment.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Healthcare organizations are advised to foster supportive work environments and promote autonomous motivation to sustain the nursing workforce.

Does Paradoxical Leadership Facilitate Leaders' Task Performance? A Perspective of Self-Regulation Theory

As an emerging Chinese indigenous leadership style, paradoxical leadership has received considerable attention from researchers. Many studies have demonstrated the positive impact of paradoxical leadership on employees, teams, and organizations; however, there is less information on how paradoxical leaders influence their own work outcomes. On the basis of self-regulation theory, in this study, we examined the impact of paradoxical leadership on leaders’ task performance. In addition, we investigated the mediating effects of job crafting and career resilience on this relationship. Through a survey of 120 leaders and 271 of their immediate followers, our empirical analysis found the following: (1) paradoxical leadership was positively related to leaders’ task performance, (2) job crafting mediated the relationship between paradoxical leadership and leaders’ task performance, and (3) career resilience positively moderated the relationship between paradoxical leadership and job crafting, and had an indirect effect on task performance through job crafting. Our model offers novel insights into the paradoxical leadership literature and implications for improving leaders’ job crafting and task performance.

Change is never easy: How management theories can help operationalise change in medical education

CONTEXT

Medical education is neither simple nor stable, and is highly contextualised. Hence, ways of perceiving multiple connections and complexity are fundamental when seeking to describe, understand and address concerns and questions related to change.

PROPOSAL

In response to calls in the literature, we introduce three examples of contemporary organisational theory which can be used to understand and operationalise change within medical education. These theories, institutional logics, paradox theory and complexity leadership theory, respectively, are relatively unknown in medical education. However, they provide a way of making sense of the complexity of change creatively. Specifically, they cross-cut different levels of analysis and allow us to 'zoom in' to micro levels, as well as to 'zoom out' and connect what is happening at the individual level (the micro level) to what happens at a wider institutional and even national or international level (the macro level), thereby providing a means of understanding the interactions among individuals, teams, organisations and systems. We highlight the potential value of these theories, provide a brief discussion of the few studies that have used them in medical education, and then briefly critique each theory.

CONCLUSIONS

We hope that by drawing the attention of readers to the potential of these management theories, we can unlock some of the complexity of change in medical education, support new ways of thinking and open new avenues for research.

Knowledge management and emotional exhaustion as moderators in the relationship between role conflict and organizational performance: evidence from India

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the importance of knowledge management as a moderator in the relationship between two of the burnout variables, namely, role ambiguity and work overload. In addition, the paper tests a conceptual model where emotional exhaustion is a moderator in the relationship between role ambiguity, work overload and performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a structured survey instrument, this paper gathered data from 692 respondents from the information technology industry in the southern part of India. The first psychometric properties of the instrument were tested and then hierarchical regression was used as a statistical technique for analyzing the data.

Findings

Results show that role conflict is positively related to role ambiguity and work overload, role ambiguity is negatively related to performance, work overload is positively related to performance, knowledge management moderates the relationship between role conflict and role ambiguity and role conflict and work overload. The hierarchical regression results also support that emotional exhaustion moderates the relationship between role ambiguity and performance and work overload and performance.

Research limitations/implications

As the present research is based on self-report measures, the limitations of social desirability bias and common method bias are inherent. However, this study attempts to minimize these limitations by following appropriate statistical techniques and procedures.

Practical implications

This study contributes to both practicing managers and the literature on conflict management. The study suggests that managers use knowledge management practices to mitigate the ill-effects of role conflict and enhance performance. This study also highlights the role of emotional exhaustion in organizations.

Originality/value

This study provides new insights about the importance of knowledge management practices and emotional exhaustion in the relationship between role conflict and performance. To the knowledge, the importance of knowledge management practices is underemphasized in conflict management research. The study also provides insights into the role of one of the burnout variables i.e. emotional exhaustion in its influence on performance. The implications of this relationship for organizational role theory and organizational learning theory and for management practice, are discussed.

Perceived Work Uncertainty and Creativity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Zhongyong and Creative Self-Efficacy

Research on the relationship between work stress and employee creativity has been mixed. This study on 823 female attorneys in China identifies employee creative self-efficacy and employees’ value of Zhongyong as moderators in this relationship. In this study, work stress is assessed by the perceived work uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study found that although Zhongyong, which involves an employee’s ambidextrous thinking, can be helpful for employee creativity, low levels of Zhongyong are better for employee creativity in an uncertain context such as the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the fact that high levels of Zhongyong result in an overemphasis on compromise and giving in when times are uncertain. Instead, low levels of Zhongyong will decrease employees’ concern about others’ acceptance in an uncertain environment. In addition, creative self-efficacy motivates employees to engage in creative efforts during times of work uncertainty. In sum, this study found that employee perceived work uncertainty brought on by COVID-19 enhances employee creativity when an employee’s value of Zhongyong is low and creative self-efficacy is high.

Ambidextrous Leadership and Employee Work Outcomes: A Paradox Theory Perspective

Numerous studies have examined the influence of ambidextrous leadership on employee work outcomes, but few have explored the issue through the congruence or incongruence of two seemingly conflicting leadership styles. Based on paradox theory, we adopted polynomial regression and surface analysis methods to investigate the congruent/incongruent effects of loose and tight leadership techniques. In order to reduce common method bias, we used a two-wave design with a two-month time interval. By using two-wave surveys of 301 employees, this study posited that ambidextrous leadership congruence creates higher leader–member exchange quality, and that loose and tight leadership with a high strength plays a more positive role in enhancing LMX quality. This study demonstrated that LMX quality mediates the relationship between ambidextrous leadership congruence/incongruence and employee work outcomes (i.e., job performance and creativity).

How Does Paradoxical Leadership Affect Employees' Voice Behaviors in Workplace? A Leader-Member Exchange Perspective

We theorized and tested a leader-member perspective beyond the existing studies in paradoxical leadership and employee voice behavior. We proposed that paradoxical leadership influences employees’ voice behavior through psychological safety and self-efficacy. We also theorized that team size influences an extent to which the subordinates internalize their self-efficacy and psychological safety to exhibit proactive behavior. In a longitudinal study conducted on 155 subordinates and 96 supervisors in China, we found that when leaders adopt paradoxical behavior, employees are more likely to engage into promotive voice behavior; however, employees’ prohibitive voice behavior is reduced when their leaders adopt paradoxes in leadership behavior. Additionally, psychological safety mediates the relationship between paradoxical leadership and promotive voice behavior. Further, team size has significant interaction effects with psychological safety on promotive voice behavior.