Digital Gifts at the Workplace

This study builds on the emergence of new gifting practices using e-hongbaos which are monetary gifts transferred between individuals made possible by digital communication platforms. This is an exploratory study on the impact of these innovations on intra-organizational relationships. Three types of intra-organizational relationships are considered: the employee's relationship with the organization, with the team, and with the manager. The findings of the study indicate positive impacts of e-hongbao at all organizational levels. The authors also identify the varying effects of e-hongbao on intra-organizational relationship outcomes depending on the occasion of gifting, as well as the mode, direction, and measure. Specifically, ‘group' e-hongbao, a gamified group-gift enabled by the digitalization of gifting, has the strongest influence on intra-organizational relationships. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice in the workplace and also offer future research directions.

Factors Influencing Team Performance: What Can Support Teams in High-Performance Sport Learn from Other Industries? A Systematic Scoping Review

Background

The primary aim of our systematic scoping review was to explore the factors influencing team function and performance across various industries and discuss findings in the context of the high-performance sport support team setting. These outcomes may also be used to inform future research into high-performance teamwork in sport.

Methods

A systematic scoping review of literature published in English since 2000 reporting team-based performance outcomes and included a performance metric that was ‘team outcome based’ was conducted using search of the Academic Search Ultimate, Medline, Business Source Ultimate, APA PsycInfo, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, and Military database (ProQuest) using the terms: ‘team’, ‘function’ OR ‘dysfunction’, ‘Perform*’ OR ‘outcome’.

Results

Application of the search strategy identified a total of 11,735 articles for title and abstract review. Seventy-three articles were selected for full-text assessment with the aim to extract data for either quantitative or qualitative analysis. Forty-six of the 73 articles met our inclusion criteria; 27 articles were excluded as they did not report a performance metric. Eleven studies explored leadership roles and styles on team performance, three studies associated performance feedback to team performance, and 12 studies explored the relationship between supportive behaviour and performance. Team orientation and adaptability as key figures of team performance outcomes were explored in 20 studies.

Conclusions

Our findings identified 4 key variables that were associated with team function and performance across a variety of industries; (i) leadership styles, (ii) supportive team behaviour, (iii) communication, and (iv) performance feedback. High-performance teams wishing to improve performance should examine these factors within their team and its environment. It is widely acknowledged that the dynamics of team function is important for outcomes in high-performance sport, yet there is little evidence to provide guidance. This inequality between real-world need and the available evidence should be addressed in future research.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40798-021-00406-7.

How does the Leader's Centrality affect Team Performance Assessment? Testing the Role of Leader's Satisfaction

The study aims to test how the association between leader's centrality (outdegree and betweenness) in the group network, considering both workflow and friendship ties between leader and members, and the perception of team performance is mediated by the leader's satisfaction with the team. The research included a total of 74 formal leaders of organizational teams from several organizations. Total, direct and indirect effects were calculated through the estimation of an OLS regression-based mediation model, controlling for team size. Results revealed that only leader's outdegree and betweenness centrality in the team friendship network positively predicted the leader's perception of team performance. In contrast to the predictions, a significant negative indirect effect of outdegree centrality of the leader within the team workflow network on the evaluation of group performance through leader's satisfaction was observed. Also, both leader´s outdegree and betweenness centrality levels in the friendship network were shown to have a positive effect on leader's assessment of team performance through leader's satisfaction with the team. Overall, findings point to the negative effects of leader's centrality in the workflow team network and the positive effects of leader's centrality in the friendship team network on his/her attitudes toward the team. The effects of the more or less central position of the leader within each of the group networks are discussed.

The mechanism behind employee agreeableness and group performance ratings: a Pakistani study

Purpose

This study seeks to examine the links between employee agreeableness, group performance, and peers' perceptions of threat of retaliation, through relationship conflict.

Design/methodology/approach

In a laboratory setting, 42 groups of undergraduate students (N = 182) from a Pakistani university were assigned to group projects to be completed within four months. Data collected from three different questionnaires at four different times and actual scores awarded by the course instructor to each group were used for the analyses. Based on rWG(J) and ICC(1), level 1 (182 students') data were aggregated to level 2 (groups), and then analysed using regression analysis followed by Preacher and Hayes' bootstrapping procedure.

Findings

Results suggest that high agreeableness predicts group performance positively and peers' perceptions of threat of retaliation negatively. Moreover, relationship conflict among group members significantly mediates the agreeableness-group performance relationship. The above relationships may be sensitive to national culture.

Research limitations/implications

In this study, groups were formed for a few months, whereas in real organizational life, workgroups are formed for different durations. Therefore, the range of situations to which these findings generalize remains an open question.

Practical implications

Agreeableness of group members can be constructive for performance of the group. Managers may utilize this insight while forming groups, and rating performance.

Originality/value

There is dearth of research illuminating how employee's personality traits affect group performance and appraisal ratings. The study tests the effects of employee agreeableness on: (1) group performance, as rated by supervisors; (2) the threat of retaliation, as perceived by peer raters; and (3) the mediating effect of relationship conflict.

Empowering leadership and LMX as the mediators between leader’s personality traits and constructive voice behavior

Purpose

This paper aims to uncover the impact of leader’s personality traits, agreeableness conscientiousness and neuroticism, on employee’s constructive voice behavior via proposed sequential mediating impact of the empowering leadership and leader–member exchange (LMX).

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed model was examined by using the data collected from 262 service executives based in an Indian private sector, using the partial least square structural equation modeling method. This study uses SPSS Process macro (serial mediation model) to analyze the data collected.

Findings

Results of the study indicated the positive association of agreeableness and conscientiousness with empowering leadership, while neuroticism was found to be negatively related. The results also provided support for the mediating effect of the LMX between empowering leadership and constructive voice behavior. Further, the authors theorized and verified the sequential mediation model proposing the indirect effect between leader’s personality traits and constructive voice.

Research limitations/ implications

Self-reported measures were used for data collection which suffers from the limitation of socially biased responses. Lack of large sample size inhibits us from drawing widely accepted generalization.

Practical implications

The authors suggest that consideration of the personality traits might assist and help organizations in choosing empowering leaders. This assumes importance as notable indirect impact of empowering leadership on constructive voice (promotive voice and prohibitive voice) has been observed. The findings also suggest the nurturing quality that LMX plays an important role in facilitating constructive voice.

Originality/value

This study is first of its kind in understanding the mediating mechanism between empowering leadership and constructive voice. This study further explored serial mediation (i.e. empowering leadership and LMX together) between leader’s personality and constructive voice.