The Antecedents and Outcomes of Public Service Motivation: A Meta-Analysis Using the Job Demands-Resources Model

Understanding what drives public service motivation and its impacts is crucial for improving public sector performance. This meta-analysis synthesized the antecedents and outcomes of public service motivation based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. Incorporating 177 studies and 179 independent samples, with a total of 319 effect sizes, the results indicated the following: (1) Job resources and personal resources were positively related to public service motivation, while hindrance demands were negatively related to it. (2) Public service motivation had a positive relationship with overall job attitudes, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work engagement. It also had a positive relationship with overall job performance, in-role performance, and extra-role performance. (3) In terms of the antecedents, individualism/collectivism moderated the relationship between job resources and public service motivation, as well as the relationship between hindrance demands and public service motivation. As for the outcomes, individualism/collectivism moderated the relationship between public service motivation and both job attitudes and job performance. This study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the antecedents and outcomes of public service motivation, offering valuable insights for future research and serving as a reference for theory development and practical application.

Reviewing the influence of positive leadership on worker well-being: A comprehensive analysis

The study provides a review of existing empirical studies on the impact of positive leadership on worker well-being. The aim it to integrate current knowledge and provide directions for future research. The study analyses the content of 118 articles retrieved mainly from Google Scholar and Scopus database published between 2004 and 2022. Findings revealed that most of the studies are atheoretical with the dominant theory applied being conservation of resource theory. Furthermore, most of the studies were cross-sectionally designed, used convenient sampling and self-reported questionnaire. A conceptual framework is presented which synthesizes findings from prior works and shows the various dimensions of positive leadership practices and worker well-being. Additionally, a comprehensive future research agenda for theoretical and empirical advancement is suggested. The study offers a comprehensive framework that synthesizes and integrates the existing literature on positive leadership and worker well-being. The findings offer researchers in leadership a common platform for discourse.

A dual-pathway model for examining the effects of customer mistreatment on an employee's customer-directed counterproductive work behavior: can job autonomy make a difference?

Purpose

This research examined how customer mistreatment activates individual customer-directed counterproductive work behavior (CWBC) by investigating the mediating roles of negative work reflection and negative affect. It also explored whether job autonomy buffers the negative impact of customer mistreatment on CWBC.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors tested their predictions using an experience-sample method with a sample of data from 79 service workers across eight days. A multilevel structural equation model was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The authors found that negative work reflection and negative affect mediated the association between customer mistreatment and CWBC. In addition, job autonomy moderated the indirect impact of daily customer mistreatment on employees' CWBC through negative work reflection and negative affect.

Research limitations/implications

There are some concerns about a common method because all of the study variables were self-reported. Moreover, the study sample consisted of participants recruited exclusively from China, thus limiting this research's generality.

Practical implications

To eliminate the detrimental impact of customer mistreatment, supervisors can strive to improve the autonomy of those who interact with customers frequently to reduce their CWBC.

Originality/value

This study offers an integrative view to explain why service workers engage in CWBC when suffering customer mistreatment by testing the mediating mechanisms of negative reflection and negative affect in the association between daily customer mistreatment and CWBC. Second, the authors have broadened the study of customer mistreatment by introducing job autonomy as a critical condition, eliminating the indirect association between customer mistreatment and CWBC.

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.

How daily supervisor abuse and coworker support affect daily work engagement

The purpose of this study was to explore the dynamic and intervention mechanisms of daily abusive experience affecting daily work engagement. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, we examine the effect of daily abusive supervision on daily work engagement through daily negative emotions from the resource consumption perspective, and the moderation effect of coworker support from the resource provision perspective. Using a daily diary approach and based on a sample of 73 employees for 5 consecutive days in China. The results reveal that daily abusive supervision has a significant negative effect on daily work engagement, daily negative emotions mediate this relationship, and coworker support had a cross-level moderating effect between daily abusive supervision and daily negative emotions. Our study shows ways to boost employees’ daily work engagement and especially ways buffer the negative effect of abused experience on work engagement.

Promoting teaching innovation of Chinese public-school teachers by team temporal leadership: The mediation of job autonomy and the moderation of work stress

This study examines the impact of team temporal leadership, leaders’ behaviors regarding scheduling, allocating time resources, and coordinating team members, on teachers’ innovative behavior. Questionnaire surveys on 2021 Chinese elementary and secondary public-school teachers show that team temporal leadership exerts a significant positive direct effect on teaching innovation and the effect can be facilitated through the mediation of job autonomy. Moreover, both the direct effect and the second-leg of the mediation effect are moderated by work stress. These suggest that, at least in certain educational settings, teaching innovation can benefit from leaders’ appropriate scheduling and synchronization of time resources. The results also emphasizing the roles of job autonomy and work stress during this time-based team management.

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.

Exploring the Effects of Coaching Behavior on the Mental Conditioning Process of Taekwondo Poomsae Athletes: A Moderated Mediation Effect of Psychological Needs and Gender

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is a gender-specific difference in the indirect effect of perceived coaching behaviors of Taekwondo Poomsae athletes on performance mediated by basic psychological needs. To this end, a survey was conducted to collect data from 474 Taekwondo Poomsae athletes (male = 285). Based on the collected data, analysis of basic descriptive statistics and confirmatory factor analysis were performed, and PROCESS was used to test the proposed model of multi mediated moderation. For female athletes, there was an indirect effect of controlling coaching behaviors resulting in performance improvement mediated by autonomy, but this effect was not observed in male athletes. The findings of this study indicate that different mental conditioning strategies should be applied in consideration of athletes’ gender to improve coaches’ methods of instruction and ultimately improve performance in Taekwondo Poomsae.

The Impact of Empowering Leadership on Job Performance of Higher Education Institutions Employees: Mediating Role of Goal Clarity and Self-Efficacy

Purpose

The main objective of existing research is to assess empowering leadership effects on employees’ job performance at the academic level through mediating variables’ goal clarity and self-efficacy.

Methods

Data were congregated from 400 employees belonging to higher education institutions of Pakistan through research assistants, hired for data collection. Statistical procedures, such as factor analysis via statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS 23), structural equation modeling with bootstrapping via statistical tool analysis of moment structures (AMOS 24), were used to evaluate data and assess the relationship among the constructs.

Results

The structural equation modeling analysis uncovered several results. For instance, it shows the positive influence of empowering leadership behaviors on goal clarity, self-efficacy, and employees’ job performance. Moreover, the bootstrap investigation showed that goal clarity and self-efficacy mediate empowering leadership behaviors’ influence on workers’ job performance. Therefore, conferring to existing study results empowering leadership is significantly associated with employees’ job performance in the presence of mediators goal clarity and self-efficacy at the academic level of higher education institutions of Sindh, Pakistan.

Conclusion

The main research question of existing research is to assess empowering leadership effects on employees’ job performance through mediating variables’ goal clarity and self-efficacy. To investigate this research question, we have conducted this study and empirically established that empowering leadership can affect employees’ job performance with and without mediation. We have also shown empowering leadership as collaborative effects produce advanced levels of self-efficacy, goal clarity, and employees’ job performance than either leadership behavior could accomplish by itself.

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.

Crazy, stupid, disobedience: The dark side of paradoxical leadership

In organizations, paradoxes are not only an expression of growing dynamism and complexity. Leaders can also generate them intentionally by means of double-bind rhetoric in order to exercise power. In double-bind situations, followers are trapped in a paradox: they have no possibility of doing what is right, but can always be made responsible by their leaders for wrong decisions. To create awareness of this dark side of paradoxical leadership, the article builds and elaborates a theoretical typology of double binds in organizations and discusses it in terms of the introduced concept of paratoxical leadership. The article further explains how paratoxical leadership leads to dysfunctional outcomes for the individual and the organization and discusses ways to successfully prevent and resolve instances of paratoxical leadership. In this way, the article shows how leadership power, or more precisely, the abuse of leadership power, in organizations can be explained from a paradox perspective.

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.

How does paradoxical leadership promote bootlegging: a TPB-based multiple mediation model

Purpose

This study aims to explore the antecedents of bootlegging from the perspective of paradoxical leadership. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), it examines a multiple mediation model with harmonious innovation passion, role breadth self-efficacy and perceived error management culture as mediators, to interpret why paradoxical leadership influences employee bootlegging.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the theoretical model, data were collected from 218 full-time employees from enterprises in Chinese cities using a three-wave time-lagged design. Path-analysis and a bootstrapping approach in Mplus7 were used to examine the hypotheses of the theoretical model.

Findings

The results show that paradoxical leadership has a positive influence on bootlegging. In the multiple mediation model, the effect paths of harmonious innovation passion and role breadth self-efficacy are significant but there is an insignificant difference in their power, while the effect path of perceived error management culture is insignificant, although it has a significant simple mediating effect and sequential mediating effect.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to show the influence of paradoxical leadership on bootlegging, responding to the research call to use the paradoxical factors to capture the antecedents of innovative behaviors. Second, this study enriches the outcomes of paradoxical leadership, that of bootlegging. Third, this study provides a TPB-based mechanism of how paradoxical leadership promotes bootlegging by increasing employees’ harmonious innovation passion, role breadth self-efficacy and perceived error management culture. This provides a new theoretical perspective to explain the relationship between paradoxical leadership and employee bootlegging. It also responds to the call for exploration of the multiple pathways of leadership.