The New Era Workplace Relationships: Is Social Exchange Theory Still Relevant?

Mitigating Job Burnout in Jordanian Public Healthcare: The Interplay between Ethical Leadership, Organizational Climate, and Role Overload

In today's dynamic organizational landscape, characterized by rapid technological advancements and evolving workplace dynamics, understanding the factors influencing employee well-being is paramount. This study investigates the interplay between ethical leadership, organizational climate, role overload, and job burnout in public healthcare organizations across northern Jordan. By focusing on ethical leadership, organizational climate, and role overload as determinants of job burnout, this research provides insights into strategies for enhancing employee well-being. Drawing on ethical leadership theory, social exchange theory, and the job demands-resources model, this study employs PLS-SEM to analyze data collected from 260 employees working in Jordanian government hospitals. The findings reveal negative associations between ethical leadership and job burnout, highlighting the importance of ethical leadership behaviors in mitigating employee burnout. Additionally, a positive organizational climate is associated with lower levels of burnout, underscoring the impact of the broader organizational context on employee well-being. The study also explores the mediating role of organizational climate and the moderating effect of role overload in the relationship between ethical leadership and job burnout, providing insights into the complex dynamics at play in healthcare organizations. These findings enrich our understanding of the factors influencing employee well-being in healthcare contexts and underscore the importance of fostering ethical leadership and supportive organizational climates to mitigate job burnout.

Mediation of work-family support and affective commitment between family supportive supervisor Behaviour and workplace deviance

Employees' Workplace Deviant Behavior (WDB) is an organizational threat to its sustainability. This study examines the impact of the supervisors' role in improving organizational behavior because of the gap in the body of knowledge indicating the inconsistency, paucity, and uncertainties of relationships between variables when relating to their underpinning theories. The conceptualized model consists of the impact of family supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB) on workers' workplace deviant behavior (WDB) while considering Affective Commitment and Work-Family Supportive Behavior Attribution between the key variables. In terms of methodology, this quantitative study analyzed 321 valid surveys through descriptive and inferential statistics to ascertain if FSSB negatively impacts employees' WDB. As findings and novelty of this study, FSSB is found to negatively affect employees' WDB, while affective commitment mediates between FSSB and employees' WDB. Work-family supportive behavior attribution and personal life attribution of employees moderated the negative relationship between affective commitment and WDB, while work productivity attribution of employees had no significant effect as a moderator. With three (out of four) hypotheses supported by empirical evidence, this research has broadened previous studies of workers' WDB and offers organizations theoretical and practical recommendations for managing employees' WDB. More studies could be conducted in the future to address limitations in this research, examine other related theories in a new context, location, and/or culture, or select other suitable research methods.

Facilitate or Diminish? Mechanisms of Perceived Organizational Support on Employee Experience of New Generation Employees

The new generation of employees has emerged as a major force in the labor market, and their employee experience has become a significant factor in transforming the employment relationship. The objective of this study is to see if perceived organizational support influences the employee experience of the new generation of employees. Also, considering that the underlying mechanisms between the two are unclear, this study explores the mediating role of proactive personality and the moderating role of emotional exhaustion. This study used the Perceived Organizational Support Scale, Employee Experience Scale, Proactive Personality Scale, and Emotional Exhaustion Scale to survey 550 new-generation employees in China. The results showed that: perceived organizational support facilitated the level of employee experience of new generation employees; proactive personality partially mediated the relationship between perceived organizational support and employee experience. In addition, emotional exhaustion moderated the relationship between perceived organizational support and proactive personality. This study reveals the mechanisms of organizational and individual factors on the employee experience of new generation employees, explores the growth path of employee experience of new generation employees, and provides insights into the management practice work of business leaders.

Integrative Prevention at Work: A Concept Analysis and Meta-Narrative Review

Purpose The purpose of this study was to conceptualize integrative prevention at work and to identify its operational variables to support its application in occupational rehabilitation. Methods Based on Walker and Avant's specifications for concept analysis, we conducted a systematic five-step procedure (i.e., 1-identification of research question, 2-literature search through meta-narrative review, 3-manuscript selection, 4-extraction, 5-analysis). Results Analysis of information extracted from 20 manuscripts across diverse literature fields allowed to identify that the shared attributes of integrative prevention at work are: (a) coordination of the three levels of prevention, (b) integration of health promotion with prevention, (c) shared understanding of the goal, (d) engagement of stakeholders, and (e) variety of actions. The analysis also identified three antecedents and five consequences, situating the concept within the context of a change process. The results include recommendations for promoting the practical application of the concept. Conclusion The results of this study offer an informative, non-prescriptive, and operational definition of integrative prevention at work that all the stakeholders involved, including occupational rehabilitation professionals, can use.

Looking at both sides, outcomes of positive workplace relational systems: A phenomenological study

Relational systems are like a gear wheel in organizational processes that keeps employees connected and moving. These relationships are developed and maintained within the work environment for task accomplishment. But these relational systems are originating other outcomes that directly and indirectly affect the organizational process. The present study aimed to explore the outcomes of positive workplace relational systems. Under qualitative phenomenological approach followed a classical content analysis technique employed to analyze the data collected from 20 Bank employees through semi-structured interviews. The data analysis revealed that outcomes of positive relational systems varied depending on the duration and quality of relationships. Organizational culture identified as an important factor that influences the quality of relationships and their outcomes. The data analysis revealed that positive workplace relational systems along with positive behavioral outcomes also develop negative outcomes among employees such as perception of organizational politics. This study argued that outcomes of positive workplace relational systems depend on the perception and need satisfaction of participants. The result highlighted the important areas for individuals and organizations to consider in the context of relationship management, developing interpersonal skills in employees, and encouraging relationship generosity. It will help to enhance the well-being of employees and improve organizational performance.

The influence of high-quality workplace relational systems and mindfulness on employee work engagement at the time of crises

Workplace relational systems move the organizational processes therefore, the influence on employee work behavior is inevitable. Drawing on the relational systems and broaden & build theory, this study aimed to examine the impact of high-quality workplace relational systems and trait of mindfulness on employee work engagement. This study also posits that psychological capital mediates this relationship and negative affectivity plays a moderating role. Data was collected from 331 employees associated with the public and private sectors. PLS-SEM, Higher Component Modeling technique employed to analyze the data. Results showed a positive association between high-quality workplace relational systems and mindfulness with employee work engagement. Data also support the mediating role of psychological capital. This study contributes to understanding the internal mechanism of how workplace relational systems and mindfulness affect work engagement through mediating effect of psychological capital. The findings of this study showed that high-quality workplace relational systems and mindfulness are workplace factors that induce employees' work engagement. The present study advances the knowledge on the flourishment of the work environment. The findings of this study also contribute to further focusing research on the relational work environment in its response to employee behavioral dimension.

How do family and non-family ties affect knowledge sharing in SMEs in a developing country? Linking social capital and network strength

Purpose

This study aims to examine how differences in the strength of interpersonal ties affect the social structure of organisational family and non-family relationships and their implications for work-related interactions.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a quantitative approach. The hypotheses were tested using multi-group analysis in PLS-SEM as implemented in WarpPLS Version.

Findings

The results show that both family and non-family organisational members are inclined to ask from others whom they previously have given information, implying that reciprocity in work-related interactions in the workplace is present at the dyad level. Furthermore, the existing robust strength of ties among family employees facilitate a three-way relationship where each member is responsible for the quality of work-related interactions between other members. This means that triadic communication is only present within family networks. While, the absence of strong interpersonal ties within non-family network fuels the popularity effect, where non-family employees who are perceived to be knowledgeable tend to be approached by others for work-related information.

Originality/value

This study brings to the fore a nuanced perspective that complements our current understanding of the implications of social relationships within family and non-family employee groups on work-related interactions in the workplace. It provides clues on how family and non-family employees identify with the firm through their informal relational embeddedness towards work-related interactions within the organisation.

Towards Examining the Link Between Green HRM Practices and Employee Green in-Role Behavior: Spiritual Leadership as a Moderator

Purpose

Grounding on the supplies-values fit theory, this study examines the effect of green HRM practices on an employee's in-role green behavior after the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, this study examined the mediating role of psychological green climate between green HRM practices and in-role green behaviour. In addition, we studied that spiritual leadership as a buffering mechanism strengthens the relation between psychological green climate and employee in-role behavior.

Methods

The paths were examined using hierarchical multiple regression and for moderation mediation, we used PROCESS Hayes (2003) to evaluate the data collected from 374 Chinese MNCs employees.

Results

The findings indicate that green HRM practices have a positive effect on employees' in-role green behaviour. In addition, psychological green climate mediates the relation between green HRM practices and employee in-role green behavior. Spiritual leadership influences the strength of the moderated mediated path between green HRM practices and employee in-role green behavior (through a psychological green environment).

Discussion

The most apparent manifestation of green HRM practices is the integration of environmental concerns into traditional HRM processes after Covid-19 pandemic, including hiring, training, evaluating performance, and distributing pay and benefits. These green-focused management initiatives are more likely to result in employees acting greenly.

How relational capability can influence the success of business partnerships

Purpose

The present article aims to investigate the quality of the relationships in a business partnership for a project in Medtech field and the components that most influence them, with special attention to relational capabilities (RCs). Dyadic relationships and mainly RCs are considered critical factors for the success of a partnership.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study was used to evaluate the influence of RC on the progress of an alliance between a start-up and a small and medium scale enterprise (SME). The evaluation is performed using a questionnaire. To highlight such progress, the same questions were asked at the start of the partnership and one year later. The results were compared to analyse the improvement of RC and draw conclusions on the correlation between RC and alliance performance.

Findings

The method adopted allowed for a clear identification of the criticalities of the partnership. The authors found evidence that poor RCs lead to confusion, a sense of exclusion and a lack of collaboration amongst members. Results confirmed that increased RC and aligning the allies' capabilities positively affect the alliance's performance.

Research limitations/implications

Exogenous variables influencing the partnership's progress were not included in the present study. Future research may consider them.

Originality/value

Limited prior research is available on collaboration between SME and start-ups. The present authors aim to investigate the topic further, investigating RCs between firms. The article is also a starting point for future case study comparisons.

The role of leadership skills in organisational citizenship behaviour at Vietnamese libraries: organisational culture as a mediator

Purpose

This research aims to explore the influence of leadership skills (technical, human and conceptual) on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) with the mediating role of organisational culture in Vietnamese libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative methodology was selected to achieve the objective of this research. Data were gathered through paper/pencil surveys from 201 participants working in various Vietnamese libraries. The convergent validity, consistency reliability and discriminant validity of measures were validated challenged via Stata 15.1 software. The findings of the proposed hypotheses were examined via regression analysis.

Findings

The results partially supported the hypothesis that leadership skills significantly predict OCB. Regarding the relationship between leadership skills and organisational culture, only human skill significantly affected bureaucracy culture. In turn, only bureaucracy culture significantly affected the OCB of individuals (OCBI) and OCB of organisations (OCBO). Finally, bureaucracy culture significantly mediated the relationship between human skill, OCBI and OCBO.

Originality/value

This study opens the scope of research on leadership skills in Vietnamese libraries by exploring three main gaps in the extant studies of leadership approach, namely, the influence of three leadership skills on OCB, the role of leadership in promoting organisational culture and the underlying mechanism through which leadership skills contribute to OCB with the mediation of organisational culture. The implications of the research are discussed.

Virtual fun in a virtual workplace: employee socialization for “work from home”

Purpose

This paper introduces “virtual fun at the virtual workplace” and conceptualizes its impact on virtual socialization and the formation of virtual professional ties. The conceptual model also recognizes the moderation of a few variables: “awareness of being observed,” “diversity in the virtual workplace” and “virtual impression management.”

Design/methodology/approach

The paper takes a theoretical approach to develop a conceptual framework of virtual fun in the virtual workplace, drawing on social exchange theory (SET) and social network theory (SNT).

Findings

The study extends the tenets of the SET and extends the applicability of SNT to a virtual workplace. The study suggests that managers should introduce semi-organized virtual fun during scheduled breaks within work hours to aid in virtual socialization, which further aids in the formation and strengthening of “professional ties” in the virtual workplace.

Originality/value

This study is the first of its kind to conceptualize a model for virtual fun in the virtual workplace.

Social exchange theory: Systematic review and future directions

Social exchange theory (SET) is one of the most influential theories in social sciences, which has implications across various fields. Despite its usefulness being a typical social transaction, there is a need to look at it from the lens of psychological transactions to further its evolution and to identify future directions. After generally reviewing 3,649 articles from the Social Science Citation Index and Scopus, a total of 46 articles were selected for final review using a comprehensive systematic review approach. We have highlighted the need for further research in psychological transactions, reciprocity principles, exchange relations, and the impact of various factors on the exchange process. Among other exchange rules (social, economic, and psychological) and transactions (social, economic, and psychological), this research provides an elevation platform for the less explored exchange rules in psychological transactions. Among other theories in the social sciences, social exchange theory is a theory that shadows many other theories under its umbrella.

The relationship between work practice environment and work engagement among nurses: The multiple mediation of basic psychological needs and organizational commitment a cross-sectional survey

Background

Previous researchers have demonstrated that the work practice environment influences nurses' engagement; however, few studies have explored the mechanisms that explain the links between them.

Objectives

To examine whether basic psychological needs and organizational commitment mediate the relationship between the work practice environment and work engagement.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample of 893 nurses from 14 cities in Sichuan Province of China between November 2021 and December 2021. Data were collected online using the Chinese version of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, Basic Needs Satisfaction in General Scale, Organizational Commitment Scale, and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The Pearson correlation analysis and multiple mediation model were used to analyze the data.

Results

The Pearson correlation analysis showed that work practice environment, basic psychological needs, and organizational commitment were positively associated with work engagement. The positive relationship between work practice environment and work engagement was mediated by basic psychological needs and organizational commitment [B = 0.505, SE = 0.032, 95% CI (0.442, 0.566)].

Conclusions

The study substantially contributes to the existing knowledge by revealing the mechanisms of fostering work engagement among nurses and explaining why the work practice environment influences work engagement.

The effect of perceived organizational support on the prohibitive voice behavior of knowledgeable talents during the COVID-19 pandemic: Exploring moderating role of the digitalization level

This study focuses on the effect of perceived organizational support on the prohibitive voice of knowledgeable talents and on the factors influencing that voice during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Grounding our research in social exchange theory and the Chinese sociocultural background, we collected data from 714 questionnaires from universities in Zhejiang Province and analysize by linear regression and found, first, that perceived organizational support significantly increased the prohibitive voice of knowledgeable talents and, second, that in the relationship between perceived organizational support and the prohibitive voice of those talents, the level of digitalization level of an organization has a positive the effect of perceived organizational support on prohibitive voice behavior. This study enriches the theory of voice behavior, helps universities understand the behavioral patterns of knowledgeable talents and guides the cultivation of an atmosphere with prohibitive voice behavior.

Safety Performance Assessment of Construction Sites under the Influence of Psychological Factors: An Analysis Based on the Extension Cloud Model

Psychological hazards within organizational structures of construction sites are difficult to detect and can have significant negative impacts on safety performances when such hazards erupt. At present, most safety performance assessment models for construction sites ignore psychological factors. Therefore, in order to reveal psychological hazards within construction site organizations and to avoid damage caused by psychological hazards to safety performances, this paper evaluates the safety performances of construction sites by focusing on leader-member exchange ambivalence as the main trigger point. The evaluation system and evaluation criteria are established through three aspects: building scale, emotional orientation, and stability factors. The hierarchical analysis method, game theory, and extension cloud model are combined to make evaluation results more objective and credible. Moreover, a construction project with high technical requirements, high investment, and complex construction conditions (defined as a complex project) and an ordinary construction project with low technical difficulty and simple construction conditions (defined as a general project) were selected for analysis. The evaluation results indicate that both complex projects and general projects have safety hazards regarding psychological orientations. Finally, this paper makes some suggestions from three aspects: management system and corporate culture, building site intelligence, and social opinion to improve the safety performances of construction sites. The evaluation results are the same as actual operation results, which verify that models proposed in this paper can be used for safety performance evaluations of actual construction projects and provide help for managers to grasp overall safety levels.

Social sustainability in supply chains: the role of local practices and informal networks

Purpose

The study aims to investigate cultural aspects in supply chains, analysing the effect that local customs may have in the quality of buyer–supplier relationships. Building on the premisses of social exchange theory (SET), it concentrates on the impacts that suppliers’ use of local practices and informal networks may have in buyers’ attitudes and perceptions. The issues addressed and the empirical evidence provided represent initial, yet important steps in the fulfilment of the ‘cultural void’ within supply chain social sustainability (SCCS) literature.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a role-playing experiment applied to a total sample of 468 participants, the effects of Chinese guanxi, Russian blat, South Korean yongo and Brazilian jeitinho on buyers’ satisfaction, buyers’ commitment, trust and solution severity are measured by their use to access informal networks as solutions to both common (i.e. documentation irregularities) and extraordinary (i.e. modern slavery) supply chain problems.

Findings

Results show that, while the activation of informal networks may impact buyers’ perceptions, the use of some local practices by suppliers (i.e. Chinese guanxi and Brazilian jeitinho) cause greater variations in buyers’ attitudes and perceptions than others (i.e. South Korean yongo and Russian blat), with ethical offences (i.e. modern slavery) and higher levels of buyers’ dependency acting as catalysts of these processes.

Originality/value

The investigation of cultural practices typical of economically peripheral countries contributes to the understanding of new facets of buyer–supplier relationships, with the investigation of non-Northwestern practices being particularly important in this regard.

Work stress, technological changes, and job insecurity in the retail organization context

The study intends to investigate the relationship between work stress and job insecurity, as well as technological changes and job insecurity, with job satisfaction acting as a mediator. The study was conducted among Pakistani retail industry employees using survey questionnaires distributed online and in stores. The sample was composed of 262 retail workers from the FMCG and shopping mall industries. The responses were screened using the statistical software tool SPSS, and hypotheses were examined through SMART-PLS. The findings show that work stress has a strong relationship with job insecurity; additionally, the relationship appears to be statistically significant (β = 55.7%, p < 0.05), indicating that there is an increased level of job insecurity if work stress is increased. However, technological advancements showed less influence on job insecurity and had statistically insignificant results (β = 5.9%, p > 0.05). This demonstrates that many technological changes cause high levels of job insecurity because employees fear that they will be unable to cope with the changing environment. Furthermore, the mediating mechanism of job satisfaction was found to be significant, as employees with lower levels of satisfaction reported higher levels of insecurity, aiding in the narrowing of the gap in this section of the study. The study also has practical implications because the results show that the retail industry needs to act quickly to make sure workers do not worry about losing their jobs, especially now that COVID-19 is spreading like wildfire.

The impact of organizational commitment on turnover intention of substitute teachers in public primary schools: Taking psychological capital as a mediator

This research aimed to explore the impact of organizational commitment on turnover intention of substitute teachers in public primary schools in Xuzhou, and applied psychological capital as a mediator variable to establish a research model. A questionnaire was conducted with 400 substitute teachers using convenience sampling. The results show that organizational commitment has a negative yet significant effect on turnover intention. It also shows positive impact on psychological capital. Furthermore, psychological capital is shown to negatively impact turnover intention, while having a mediating effect between organizational commitment and turnover intention.

Healthier Construction: Conceptualising Transformation of Mental Health Outcomes through an Integrated Supply Chain Model

The construction industry is undoubtedly one of the most significant global sectors that contributes to sustainable development across physical, social, environmental and economic objectives. Globally the value of the construction industry is USD 10 trillion annually. The robustness of the sector is in serious question with a crisis in mental health. The rebuilding of economies is often led by significant capital works programs and therefore in response to the global pandemic, it is anticipated that this problem will only be exacerbated. The construction sector has a unique project-based structure of numerous intersecting subsectors, which influence the behaviours and culminate in highly demanding work environments on a project-by-project basis. We propose that to institute transformational change to the mental health problem, we need to challenge current problematisations towards presenting a new conceptual framework. The aim of this paper is to analyse the industrial organisation and the structural and behavioural context of the industry and propose a new approach to understanding interactions at multiple levels in relation to root causes of the mental health problem. Aligned to the UN SDG that we are to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, this paper responds to high rates of depression, anxiety and suicide in the construction industry. There is a need to generate new knowledge about the interactions between multi project supply chain, construction project supply chain environment and construction supply chain performance in relation to mental health outcomes. Literature indicates that there is a wealth of research on stressors, coping and interventions at an individual level, however very little from an ‘insider’ construction management perspective which contextualise mental health outcomes with the environmental stressors. Coupled with this, past research designs predominantly utilised quantitative approaches reliant on questionnaires. We critique past problematisations of the mental health problem and show how it has been represented to enable the development of a reframed conceptualisation. There is a need to identify contextual evidence-based stressors throughout the construction project supply chain. We present a transformational change model integrating construction industry specific context knowledge with psychosocial expertise to improve workers’ mental health. Future research could lead to outcomes including recommendations and guidelines to engage management actors who can influence positive change through preventative strategies leading to effective and measurable mental health and project performance improvements.

Employee Retention in the Service Industry in Malaysia

This study aims to investigate the effects of work-life balance, work environment, and reward and compensation on employee retention in Malaysia. A total of 400 questionnaires were collected online from employees within the service industry in Malaysia. Partial least square structure equation modeling was used to test the model and hypotheses. The results reveal that work-life balance and work environment had a strong positive effect on employee retention, but reward and compensation had a much stronger positive effect on employee retention. This research provides unique theoretical contributions by investigating these factors in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak as components of the reciprocal process between employee and employer, and their effects on employee retention. This study also provides vital insights to business organizations to consider designing effective employee retention plans for a successful business.

Stay at Work After a Period of Disability Due to an Occupational Injury: A Complex Process Marked by Social Exchanges

Purpose Rooted in a social exchange lens, this study aimed to explore the interactions between the factors influencing stay at work after a period of disability due to an occupational injury. Methods Based on a descriptive interpretative research design, interviews with 15 participants (i.e., representatives of workers, workplaces, insurers, and the health care system) were conducted to gather their perspectives about stay at work. Qualitative data was analyzed through thematic analysis. Results Ten different factors interacting together and influencing stay at work were identified. These factors prevail either during stay at work or previously. They are either related to the person (personal resources, occupation outside of work), environment (accommodations, support, access to rehabilitation services) or interaction between the person and her/his environment (perceptions, leeway, communication and information), whether it concerns the workplace, health services or insurance. Conclusions This study contributes to the advancement of knowledge concerning two main themes: (1) the importance of considering social exchanges as factors of success, and (2) the importance of considering the stay at work within a larger process.

Media synchronicity in organizational social exchange

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to examine how media synchronicity facilitates the emergence of social exchange (i.e. trust and reciprocity) in organizations’ information and communication technology (ICT)-mediated interactions. A model of media synchronicity in organizational social exchange (MSiOSE) is proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper has a design and review approach. The theoretical analysis is based on social exchange theory (SET) and media synchronicity theory (MST).

Findings

The authors propose that, in general, social exchange benefits from both asynchronous and synchronous communication processes. However, media synchronicity has different boundary conditions (i.e. pros and cons) in relation to the emergence of social exchange, determined in accordance with the mutually interacting patterns of trust and reciprocity predicted by SET. The authors provide testable theoretical propositions to support the analysis.

Originality/value

Social exchange is a critical business factor for organizations due to its well-known positive outcomes, such as the strengthening of social ties. The need for successful social exchange in remote work conditions is particularly emphasized. However, with regard to the communication and behavioral patterns that lead to social exchange via ICT, the theoretical understanding is limited. The study reveals previously unmapped heuristics between social exchange and physical media capabilities. Thus, the study's propositions can be used to study and analyze social exchange in the ever-changing media landscape. As a practical contribution, the study helps organizations to improve their communication strategies and use of ICT.

The Impact of Positive Verbal Rewards on Organizational Citizenship Behavior-The Mediating Role of Psychological Ownership and Affective Commitment

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) can foster organizational competitiveness and survival especially, facing a rapidly changing environment. There are some empirical pieces of research that shed light on the effects of OCB on extrinsic rewards, since OCB, through performance appraisal, affects extrinsic rewards which will influence OCB as well. However, researchers have overlooked the reverse effect of extrinsic rewards (i.e., positive verbal rewards) on OCB. It is necessary to explore the mechanism between positive verbal rewards and OCB. This study integrated psychological ownership and affective commitment to form a structural model based on social exchange theory and cognitive evaluation theory. These results show that positive verbal rewards are positively correlated with psychological ownership, psychological ownership is positively correlated with affective commitment and OCB, and affective commitment is positively correlated with OCB. As refers to the mediating effects, psychological ownership fully mediates the relationship between positive verbal rewards and affective commitment. Furthermore, affective commitment plays a partial mediating role in the effect of psychological ownership on OCB. Accordingly, this psychological mechanism between positive verbal rewards and OCB reveals important theoretical and practical implications.

Exploring the socialisation experiences of female board members

Orientation: The processes that newly appointed female board members undergo to gain the social knowledge and skills to migrate from outsiders to insiders are not well understood.Research purpose: This study aimed to explore the socialisation experiences of female board members in South Africa to determine whether the process is conducive to ensuring these individuals, as newcomers, are better equipped to navigate the challenges and nuances of the board in a short amount of time.Motivation for the study: A paucity of research exists concerning organisational socialisation processes (onboarding) that new female board members undergo to acquire the skills and social knowledge required to migrate from outsiders to insiders. This study intended to fill the gap.Research approach/design and method: A qualitative exploratory research method was followed. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted from semi-structured interviews consisting of 15 female board members from various industries.Main findings: The board organisational socialisation process needs to be strategic, deliberate, collaborative and iterative. A conceptual framework was developed from the summary of findings.Practical/managerial implications: There is a need for organisations to reassess how they perform board organisational socialisation to achieve its intended outcome and maximise the board’s performance and newcomer’s performance predisposed to challenges upon entry.Contribution/value-add: Using the proposed conceptual framework developed in this study, this research can lend itself useful to organisations, leaders and consultants involved in the socialisation of newcomers within non-traditional organisational structures.

Who is likely to hide knowledge after peer ostracism? An exchange-based perspective of contact quality and need to belong

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to uncover how peer ostracism (POS) elicits knowledge hiding directed towards ostracizing peers through the intervening role of peer contact quality (PCQ). Moreover, the authors aim to highlight the role of the need to belong (NTB) as a first-order boundary condition in direct and indirect hypothesized paths.

Design/methodology/approach

The research opted for a three-wave time-lagged survey design. The data were obtained from the 234 teaching and non-teaching employees working in Higher Educational Sector in Pakistan through random sampling. Mediation and moderated mediation analysis was done by using PROCESS Models 4 and 7.

Findings

The results embraced the mediation, moderation and moderated mediation hypotheses. It was noted that POS creates negative exchange relationships. As a result, the ostracized employees withhold knowledge from the predating peer. NTB served as a buffering agent between POS and PCQ, as well as, in the indirect POS, PCQ and peer-directed knowledge hiding relationship.

Practical implications

This research serves as a guideline for management and faculty of Higher Educational Institutions for minimization of POS to promote effective collegial contact quality and curb knowledge hiding.

Originality/value

Although the research in workplace ostracism and knowledge hiding is not new, yet how this association emerges from the viewpoint of peers is not known. This study has added to the literature by answering who is more likely to reciprocate ostracism from peers by having poor quality contact and directing knowledge hiding towards the predator. By this, the authors have added to the limited stream of moderated mediation mechanisms underlying ostracism and knowledge hiding behaviour. In addition, the authors have drawn attention to the importance of peer relationships in higher educational settings.

Distributed Leadership and New Generation Employees' Proactive Behavior: Roles of Idiosyncratic Deals and Meaningfulness of Work

New generation employees have become the main force of the organization, and their proactive behavior directly affects the organization’s future development. How to effectively stimulate the proactive behavior of new generation employees has become a hot topic in the field of organizational management. Based on the integrated perspective of social exchange and self-enhancement, we constructed a multistep mediation model to explore the influence mechanism of distributed leadership on the proactive behavior of new generation employees. We designed a three-stage research method of supervisor-employee pairing to collect data from 26 supervisors and 304 new generation employees in a new energy vehicle company in East China. Results indicated that (a) distributed leadership is positively related to proactive behavior of new generation employees; (b) idiosyncratic deals and meaningfulness of work mediated the linkage between distributed leadership and new generation employees’ proactive behavior; (c) idiosyncratic deals and meaningfulness of work play a multistep mediation role between distributed leadership and new generation employees’ proactive behavior. These findings have theoretical implications for the proactive behavior literature and managerial implications for practitioners.

When COVID-19 Is the Invader and Internal Communication Is the Hero: Understanding the Influence of Internal Communication on Individual Performance and Evaluating the Mediating Role of Perceived Support

Objective: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of internal communication (IC) of organisations on the quality of the individual–organisation relationship, specifically with regard to the effects generated with respect to individual performance (IP) in a pandemic framework. In this sense, the study intends to evaluate the effects of IC on the employee’s IP, having as a mediator perceived organisational support (POS). Methodology: To achieve the aforementioned objectives, a cross-sectional quantitative study was prepared, data for which were collected during a period of confinement that took place between 9 February and 15 March 2021. A total of 340 individuals of both sexes participated in the study. Genders were 67.6% female and 32.4% male, with ages ranging from 25 years to over 61 years, from all districts of Portugal and the Islands. Results: The main results obtained showed that IC was positively and significantly correlated with POS and also with IP, and that there was also a total mediation effect of POS in the relationship between IC and IP. Practical implications: These results seem to support the need for organisations to invest in their internal communication practices as a way of stimulating strong and fruitful relationships between workers and the organisation. Internal communication seems to be a relevant indicator for the management of proximity relationships with workers, especially in adverse contexts, like the ones experienced during the pandemic crisis. Well-developed internal communication supports and practices seem to be a valid path towards developing bonds leading to improved performance.

A blockchain-enabled framework for sharing logistics resources during emergency operations

This study presents conceptual research designed to assess how the sharing economy concept can be leveraged to increase the participation of commercial organisations, such as retailers and transporters, in disaster relief operations. Drawing on social exchange theory, the academic literature on the sharing economy and blockchain, as well as existing resource-sharing practices in commercial and humanitarian logistics, the study develops a theoretical framework for analysing the structure, benefits, and prerequisites of a logistics-sharing system in emergency response. In addition, it proposes to utilise the blockchain distributed ledger technology-a shared data platform that enables authenticated communication and the widespread sharing of real-time information-to facilitate interactions and enhance trust between emergency responders and commercial organisations. It is argued that using commercial logistics resources, including emergency supplies, transport capacity, and storage space, has the potential to improve the mobilisation and deployment of urgently needed relief items and augment the flexibility of emergency response.

Psychological capital and organisational citizenship behaviour in selected public hospitals in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Orientation: The relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap) and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) is important to establish especially in the South African public hospitals where the quality of healthcare services have been reported to have deteriorated.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between psychological capital and organisational citizenship behaviour among nurses in the public hospitals.Motivation for the study: There is crisis in the public nursing sector as nurses are reported to be working under pressure as a result of increased workload and responsibilities beyond their scope of practice (in terms of doing the work that they are not trained for and more work than they can handle), in addition to rapidly changing work environments.Research approach, design and method: The present study follows a quantitative cross-sectional design using a questionnaire on a sample of 228 nurses from public hospitals in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.Main findings: The findings of the study confirm that psychological capital has a significant positive relationship with organisational citizenship behaviour.Practical/managerial implications: The study recommends management to recognise the area of OCB in the public hospitals and work in nurturing and retaining those nurses capable of displaying such behaviours.Contribution/value add: The study validates aspect of reciprocity of the Social exchange theory. Nurses with high levels of hope, self-efficacy, resilience and optimism showed reciprocity through the display of OCBs. The study also validates the aspect of job resources in eroding job demands from the Job demands resources model.

100 Years of Scientific Evolution of Work and Organizational Psychology: A Bibliometric Network Analysis From 1919 to 2019

In this study, we explore a 100 years of Work and Organizational Psychology (WOP). To do this, we carry out a bibliometric performance and network analysis (BPNA) to understand the evolution structure and the most important themes in the field of study. To perform the BNPA, 8,966 documents published since 1919 were exported from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The SciMAT software was used to process data and to create the evolution structure, the strategic diagram, and the thematic network structure of the strategic themes of the field of WOP. We identified 29 strategic clusters and discuss the most important themes (motor themes) and their relationship with other clusters. This research presents the complete evolution of the field of study, identifying emerging themes and others with a high degree of development. We hope that this work will support researchers and future research in the field of WOP.

A work-life conflict perspective on telework

Telework has been promoted for decades as one of the traffic demand management policies to alleviate congestion during peak periods and reduce work-related trips, along with other benefits. However, less clear is the role played by life stages (i.e., gender, marital status and parenthood) on telework behavior. This study investigated to which extent telework frequency associated with life stages, and how these associations could be explained based on the work-life conflict perspective. Representative data were obtained from German Microcensus 2010 (N = 188,081 participants). The outcome variable was measured as ordered telework participation levels (i.e., never, infrequently and frequently). After testing for multicollinearity, a zero-inflated ordered probit regression model was applied to assess the associations between telework and family-life stages, while adjusting for individual, household, job-related and environmental characteristics. Results suggest that life stages associate with telework behavior in a complex way. Three patterns have been distinguished. Specifically, irrespective of gender and marital status, parents are less likely to telework compared to those without children. Regarding individuals without children, single individuals are more likely to telework than married ones, and males more likely than females. In contrast, for individuals with children, the partnered parents are more likely to telework than single parents, and females more likely than males. Our findings suggest that as the most important feature in family-life stages, children play a vital role in telework behavior. It not only increases both work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict, but also triggers housework re-division within couples and aggravates gender differences. Policies that support formal childcare resources could relieve the family-to-work conflict and encourage people to work at home.

Leader-Member Exchange, Work Engagement, and Psychological Withdrawal Behavior: The Mediating Role of Psychological Empowerment

Perceptions of psychological empowerment play a vital role in the way an individual perceives things at the workplace. In spite of this, there is scant research on the antecedents and consequences of psychological empowerment. This study is an attempt to fill this gap by analyzing the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relationship between its antecedents (leader-member exchange) and its consequences (work engagement and psychological withdrawal behavior). Data were collected from 454 employees working in the Research and Development (R&D) departments of the information technology (IT) and pharmaceutical sectors operating in India. Results suggest that employees who have a high-quality relationship with their leader have high psychological empowerment, they are highly engaged at work, and their psychological withdrawal behavior is also low. In addition to this, high levels of psychological empowerment have a positive impact on their engagement toward work, which further leads to a low psychological withdrawal behavior. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

High-performance work system and organizational citizenship behaviour at the shop floor

Purpose

The manufacturing industry is presently experiencing technological disruption on a global scale. Consequently, to tackle such disruption, firms are identifying a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) scenario and seeking ways to counter it. Accordingly, this paper aims to investigate the employee performance through assessing organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among the shop floor employees of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry where a high-performance work system (HPWS) has been implemented.

Design/methodology/approach

A descriptive research design was used in the study, and 395 shop floor employees working in leading multinational firms, with a minimum global turnover of US$1bn, were interviewed. These manufacturing firms were located in three industrial clusters in the northern part of India.

Findings

The results indicate that HPWS influences OCB. Most of the dimensions of HPWS and OCB were found to be positively associated. The findings also disprove the labour process theory in the context of the study.

Practical implications

The findings report a broad view of the relationship between HPWS and OCB in the Indian manufacturing context. The study offers the practical insights that HPWS is a universally accepted framework and that organizations should focus on the effective implementation of HPWS in a VUCA scenario, which is in line with past studies. The study also provides future directions for research.

Originality/value

This paper has established the relationship between HPWS and OCB in the manufacturing sector, especially for shop floor employees.

Blurring the Lines: Exploring the Work Spouse Phenomenon

Human social behavior is largely driven by our innate motivation to develop and maintain interpersonal relationships. In the workplace, employees form various types of relationships to fulfill the need to belong and affiliate. The dynamics of today’s work environment, however, are increasingly blurring the lines between work and personal domains. A different type of interpersonal workplace relationship that is drawing more attention is work spouse. A work spouse refers to an exclusive, intimate, nonsexual shared bond with a work colleague. Despite widespread media attention, this phenomenon has not garnered much attention among organizational scholars. Thus, we aim to conceptualize work spouse as a unique interpersonal workplace relationship worthy of scholarly attention. The literature on roles and boundaries helps to enhance our understanding of this unique relationship and offer a novel agenda from which to explore the work spouse relationship and its consequences in the work and personal domain.

Adapting LMX Theory to Forthcoming Changes: Two Different Frameworks

The focal article authors have done the field a welcome service by alerting us to some of the forthcoming changes in the world of the knowledge worker. We agree that emerging changes in the structure and processes of work will need to be accommodated by new design of work—a new millennial workforce, new definitions of work, innovative practice, and the transition from a concentration on improved quality of manufacturing to a primary drive toward high technology driven innovation. The most radical adaptation may be the change from organizations designed for stability to those designed for flexibility (Chernyak-Hai & Rabenu, 2018; Grace & Graen, 2014).

Generalized Social Exchange and Its Relevance to New Era Workplace Relationships

To critically evaluate the relevance of social exchange theory (SET) to the contemporary workplace, Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu (2018) point out a number of factors that reshape work relationships and suggest how to apply and extend social exchange theory to understand the new era work relationships. However, in their discussion, they focus mainly on reciprocal exchange (RE) in dyadic relationships. The discussion completely overlooks another important form of social exchange, namely, generalized exchange (GE), which is increasingly relevant to contemporary organizations exactly because of the changes indicated by Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu. In this commentary, we briefly review prior investigations into GE across various social science disciplines and then point out its increasing relevance to organizations. Finally, we will discuss implications for future research in the industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology literature.

Long Live Social Exchange Theory

Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu (2018) argue that social exchange theory (SET) should be revised to accommodate work relationships in the “new era” of work, characterized by a more diverse workforce with changing expectations for relationships between themselves and their organizational representatives. To account for the modern workplace, Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu introduce “new” or “modern exchange variables” that capture modern workplace conditions and employee characteristics or preferences, which they expect to indirectly influencewhetherandhowemployees develop high-quality work relationships with organizational representatives.

Give and Take: Needed Updates to Social Exchange Theory

In their focal article, Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu (2018) argue that social exchange theory (SET) needs an update, and in this they are aligned with Cropanzano, Anthony, Daniels, and Hall's (2017) recent critical review of SET. Drawing on Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu's research, we explore two issues in more depth: first, that work relationships are becoming more complex than can be represented by simple dyadic reciprocity; and second, that the context of work is changing rapidly, with implications for workplace relationships. In exploring the ideas put forward by Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu, we draw on Cropanzano et al.’s two-dimensional model of social exchange, with the first dimension being desirable (positive) resources contrasted with undesirable (negative) ones, and the additional dimension being active (exhibit) behavior versus passive (withdraw) behavior. The first valence-oriented dimension fits clearly with the four foci of Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu's research, which cover both positive constructs, namely leader–member exchange (LMX), perceived organizational support and loyalty, and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), as well as negative constructs of perceived organizational politics and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB). The second, behavioral dimension proposed by Cropanzano et al. adds useful theoretical specificity that may address Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu's contention that SET needs updating to account for changes in how employees work and how organizations function.

Understanding New Era Workplace Relationships: Insights From Employee Engagement Research

In their focal article, Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu (2018) argue that the foundational assumptions of social exchange theory (SET) should be revisited and revised because of recent changes in the workplace and the workforce. Using employee engagement data from recent research projects conducted in applied settings, we investigated a series of questions based on Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu's working hypotheses.

The Workplace Working Alliance: The Modern Organizational Relationship

The evolution of organizational working relationships is always a timely discussion, especially in an age where globalization, remote workforces, and most recently artificial intelligence, to name just three, hold great promise but also concern for organizations’ capabilities to build on the strengths of traditional relationship theories while looking forward to and blazing paths toward future relationship theories. We appreciate Chernyak-Hai's and Rabenu's (2018) questioning of the “old” social exchange theory (SET) as a relevant organizing framework and their proposition of a “new” or hybrid workplace relationship theory to reflect today's workforce. In short, Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu practice good science by not throwing out what does not seem to fit but rather helping science evolve into what it needs to become (see Gergen's [2001] great commentary on ill-advised practices of ending traditions when criticisms are levied). We also admire Chernyak-Hai's and Rabenu's willingness to invite “additional organizational behavior [OB] theories” (p. 476) to join the conversation in defining what the new era workplace relationship might look like. With that invitation and a little latitude in what could be defined as “an OB theory,” we propose that the working alliance (WA; Bordin, 1979) be given space in that narrative. The substance of our commentary will describe the WA connection with Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu's new or hybrid theory, principally as it relates to issues regarding (a) tension toward equality and fairness and (b) mutual reciprocity in exchange relationships.

The Rules of Social Exchange: Unchanged but More Important Than Ever

Social exchange theory (SET) is one of the most prominent and well-known theories in the organizational sciences literature (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005). In the focal article, Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu (2018) asserted that SET needs to be adjusted to account for changes in the nature of work, workers, and workplace characteristics. Specifically, they identify that workplaces are now more volatile, complex, uncertain, and ambiguous (Bennett & Lemoine, 2014), and work itself has become more flexible, virtual, and technology dependent; accordingly, today's workers are sourced from a global talent pool and more frequently occupy nontraditional employment arrangements (e.g., freelancing). It is undisputable that the workplace landscape is vastly different from that of the workplace landscape during which early forms of SET were originally articulated (Gouldner, 1960; Homans, 1958).

SET: Still a Relevant Theory for the Future of Work

Few would argue that the workplace has changed tremendously over a short period of time and will continue to evolve in the years to come. Regardless of whether change is major or minor, lightning fast or painfully slow, change in and of itself may not be sufficient cause for substantial revision of existing theories, such as social exchange theory (SET); the formulation of entirely new theories; or the creation of new constructs. This is for two reasons: (a) the possibility that we overestimate the impact of change on the workplace, and (b) change can be readily incorporated into our existing theories. We expand on each of these points below and describe several possible macrolevel trends that may impact SET in the years to come.

Workplace Relationships and Social Networks

As described in Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu's (2018) focal article, the workplace has changed tremendously over the past few decades. These changes, undoubtedly, have affected how individuals interact and build relationships in the workplace. We live in a “networked society,” where the advances in technology and subsequent spread of communication and information have reorganized the way individuals are connected to one another (Castells, 2004; Wellman, 1999). In other words, we exist in complex networks, where underlying interconnections and interdependencies are the keys to scientific understanding. In their focal article, Chernyak-Hai and Rabenu highlight the need to adapt social exchange theories and research to incorporate the change in workplace relationships resulting from advances in technology and changes in the global market and workforce (e.g., freelancers, contract workers).