Examining the relationship between the psychological contract and organisational commitment

International journal of organizational analysis: a bibliometric review (2005–2020)

Purpose

The International Journal of Organizational Analysis (IJOA) is a leading journal that has published high-quality research focused on various facets of organizational analysis since 1993. This paper aims to conduct a retrospective analysis of the IJOA journey from 2005 to 2020.

Design/methodology/approach

The data used in this study was extracted using the Scopus database. The bibliometric analysis, using several indicators, is adopted to reveal the major trends and themes of the journal. The mapping of bibliographic data is carried using VOSviewer and Biblioshiny.

Findings

The study findings indicate that IJOA has grown for publications and citations since its inception. Five significant research directions emerged, i.e. organizational diagnostics, organization citizenship behaviour, organizational commitment to employee retention, psychological capital and firm performance, based on cluster analysis of IJOA’s publications.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of IJOA. The study presents the key themes and trends emerging from a leading journal, considered a high-quality journal, for researching various facets of organizational functioning by academicians, scholars and practitioners.

Over half a century of strategic planning performance research – what have we been missing?

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of literatures and previous studies on the relationship between strategic planning and performance and propose conceptual designs and hypotheses using multidimensional constructs to advance the understanding of this relationship, contribute to existing debates in the extant literature and make recommendations.

Design/methodology/approach

A semi-systematic literature and previous studies (studied by various groups of researchers within diverse disciplines) review approach has been used in this paper to contribute to the debate on whether strategic planning affects performance and how. Using more recent knowledge about the strategic planning concept, the semi-systematic review looked at how research within strategic planning has progressed over the past five decades and its relationship with performance.

Findings

In the past, the strategic planning performance relationship has been treated as a black box and this paper proposes that the conceptualisation of a number of constructs and the inclusion of strategy implementation will help converting the black box into a white box. To strengthen support for the debate regarding the relationship between strategic planning and performance this paper proposes a further conceptual/operational design, mathematical expressions and hypotheses to be tested empirically in further studies. The proposal provides a conceptualisation of the major constructs (strategy development; strategy implementation; and performance), and the use of strategy implementation as a mediator and/or as a moderator in the planning performance relationship.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited due to fact that the findings have not been tested empirically, it is not a cross-sectional and/or a longitudinal research and only a limited number of dimensions of strategy development and strategy implementation have been used. In addition, the approach used is a semi-systematic review followed by quantitative thinking, which, in turn, typically assumes the relevance of and a warrant mainly from a positivist epistemology.

Originality/value

The proposed design developed in this paper ensures that core issues in planning performance relationships research are addressed. Furthermore, the inclusion of strategy implementation in planning performance relationship studies means that the whole chain of activities in the strategy process is being considered, drawing a complete and comprehensive conclusion on how strategic planning affects an organisation’s performance. In addition, by separating strategy implementation and by not combining it with formulation/formation activities will theoretically and analytically help to evaluate the importance or role of each stage of the strategy process. Moreover, the conceptualisation and operationalisation of the key concepts as multidimensional constructs contribute to past research gaps. Finally, this paper provides some clarity to many contradictory findings concerning the strategic planning and performance relationship.

Dual-Mediation Paths Linking Corporate Social Responsibility to Employee's Job Performance: A Multilevel Approach

This study attempts to examine the direct impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on employees' job performance and the indirect relationships between CSR initiatives on employees' job performance via industrial relations climate and psychological contract fulfillment. Data were collected from 764 supervisor-subordinate dyads and 271 middle managers from 85 companies. Using a multilevel approach, the results showed that organizational-level CSR was positively related to employees' job performance. Moreover, the industrial relations climate and psychological contract fulfillment played mediating effects between CSR initiatives and job performance. This study provides novel theoretical evidence for why and how CSR initiatives improve job performance. Theoretical and practical implications for implementing CSR initiatives are discussed.

Servant leadership and affective commitment: the role of psychological ownership and person–organization fit

Purpose

Building on social exchange theory, this study aims to propose a research model to examine the relationship between servant leadership (SL) and employee affective commitment (AC) where psychological ownership (PO) and person–organization fit are theorized to play a mediating role.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used quantitative research methods with a deductive approach to examine the proposed relationships and the underlying mechanisms. Data were collected from 346 employees working at higher education sector in Palestine. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results reveal a significant mediating role of PO and person – organization (P-O) fit in explaining the relationship between SL and employee AC. Results indicate that the service orientation and humble attitude of servant leaders toward employees help employees develop a sense of ownership, leading to a better fit with organizational values and thus to a more committed workforce.

Practical implications

The results of this study may be useful for managers working in higher education in a non-Western context who are considering using SL behaviors to improve outcomes.

Originality/value

The study advances SL research currently in its early stages (Zhang et al., 2019). Moreover, it increases understanding of the mediating roles played by PO and P-O fit.

Organizational inclusion and academics’ psychological contract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on three Egyptian public business schools in an attempt to explore the impact of organizational inclusion on the psychological contract with academics through the mediating the role of responsible leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 330 academics were contacted and given a set of questionnaires. After three follow-ups, a total of 240 responses were collected with a response rate of 72.73 percent. Multiple regressions were employed to indicate the level of variation in the types of psychological contract can be explained by organizational inclusion and responsible leadership.

Findings

The findings highlighted a positive impact for organizational inclusion on the psychological contract with academics through mediating responsible leadership or, in other words, the statistical analysis showed that responsible leadership has a role in mediating the relationship between the organizational inclusion of academics and their psychological contract type.

Originality/value

This paper contributes by filling a gap in HR management and higher education literature in which empirical studies on the relationship between organizational inclusion, responsible leadership and the psychological contract with academics have been limited until now. This may create better research opportunities for cross-disciplinary papers by scholars of HR, higher education and leadership.

“You get what you appreciate”

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the influences of transactional and transformational leadership styles on employee job satisfaction, employee affective commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) within Moroccan organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered from a sample of 219 employees working in seven different industries in Morocco and analysed using Structural Equations Modelling (SEM).

Findings

SEM analyses reveal that employee job satisfaction, affective commitment and OCB are only impacted by the personal recognition dimension of the transformational leadership style. The study indicates that charisma and intellectual stimulation (transformational leadership) as well as contingent reward and management-by-exception (transactional leadership) did not yield significant results.

Research limitations/implications

The use of a cross-sectional research design limits establishing cause-and-effect relationships.

Practical implications

The results of the current study may be of use and interest for organisations in designing effective leadership training programs, as it takes into account how managers and/or practitioners tap into their subordinates’ effective behaviour.

Originality/value

With insights derived from a non-Western perspective, the major theoretical contribution of the present study lies in exploring the effects of transactional and transformational leadership styles on employee job satisfaction, employee affective commitment and OCB in Morocco.

The role of sustainable HRM in sustaining positive organizational outcomes

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interactional relationships between sustainable human resource management (HRM) and positive organizational outcomes, in the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), focusing on employees’ perception and mediation of the direct relationships drawing on the theoretical background of the social exchange theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected using a web-based survey (293 usable responses). Respondents were full-time employees from the UAE’s oil-and-gas sector. The proposed hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression for direct and indirect relationships. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to confirm the validity of the proposed framework.

Findings

Sustainable HRM has a significant direct effect on sustainable employee performance and perceived sustainable organizational support. The mediating influence of organizational knowledge sharing (OKS) and employee empowerment were significant to varying degrees, proving the different interactions between the study constructs.

Practical implications

The mediating effect found for OKS and employee empowerment suggests that organizations should consider multiple combinations of practices to sustain positive outcomes, especially in dynamic markets. The alignment between different managerial practices can enhance anticipated organizational outcomes. Establishing knowledge-sharing practices will, therefore, help in enhancing employee performance, supporting the role of sustainable HRM. Empowering employees will also help in establishing a sense of perceived support that employees will value, leading to positive reciprocity from employees.

Originality/value

This study extends the literature on sustainable HRM and its links to positive organizational outcomes in the context of the UAE. The study also demonstrates that mediators of the direct relationships can have varying effects and associations with different organizational outcomes.

Encouraging students to draw on work experiences when articulating achievements and capabilities to enhance employability

Employability drives higher education policy yet despite the investment in developing ‘rounded’ graduates, students experience difficulties in articulating their achievements and capabilities during graduate recruitment. The purpose of this research was to trial and evaluate a career development intervention aimed at drawing on work experiences when applying for graduate roles. Students ( N = 136) from two contrasting disciplines, Business and Physiotherapy, and two institutions participated in a two-staged intervention. A focus group was also conducted with career advisors ( N = 9) to examine student engagement with career development learning. Findings indicated that students were confident in their ability to draw on relevant work experience in job applications and showed low levels of engagement in the intervention due to time constraints from their study commitments. Despite the varied contexts of the degree programmes investigated, similarities in engagement and student feedback were noted. Factors contributing to weak engagement in career provision along with strategies for improvement are presented.

The role of employer brand equity in employee attraction and retention: a unified framework

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework for employer brand equity (EBE) that combines both perspectives of employer brand customers into a unified framework for employee attraction and retention.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper extends previous conceptual work on EBE by identifying the role of EBE antecedents in internal and external employer branding. In addition, it recognizes the interactive nature of employer-employee relationship.

Findings

The framework incorporates employee experience with the employer, which relates to the interaction between employee and employer and recognizes the internal and external perspectives simultaneously. Further, the unified framework helps to develop a four-cell typology for the strategic management of an employer brand.

Originality/value

Existing research has failed to integrate the two perspectives of employment customers in a clear model and, thus, offered limited applicability to an employment setting. The EBE framework goes beyond existing models by providing a conceptualization that aims to reflect the employer-brand relationship from the perspective of existing and potential employees. Further, it provides theoretical and empirical rationale for a set of propositions that can empirically be examined in future research.

Examining the relationship between organizational coaching and workplace counterproductive behaviours in the United Arab Emirates

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to establish both the validity of Western theories within the Middle East, namely, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and to further improve and extend our understanding of the effect of organisational coaching on counterproductive behaviours, such as bullying and alienation.

Design/methodology/approach

– A sample size of 656 participants from 29 organisations and 14 different industries was employed. A research model was proposed, refined and tested through a quantitative paradigm using one dimension nonlinear principal components analysis, linear structural equation modelling (SEM) and MANOVA.

Findings

– The correlation analysis results show non-significant negative correlations between coaching and all of the organisational counterproductive behaviour dimensions but not certainty. It was found that a significant weak relationship exists between most of the mediator dimensions, while a strong relationship exists between job alienation and workplace bullying. Results of the linear SEM provide support that coaching is related to certainty. Furthermore, the results reveal that certainty mediates a significant link between coaching and organisational counterproductive work behaviours (job alienation and bullying).

Originality/value

– The study is considered the first in the UAE to investigate organisational counterproductive work behaviours (bullying and job alienation). The main contribution of this study is to quantify the relationship between organisational coaching and bullying and job alienation mediated by organisational climate dimensions.