Conservation Of Resources Theory Research Articles

Perceived meaningfulness or ego depletion? A two-path model of servant leadership behaviors influence on intention to leave

ABSTRACT Based on the conservation of resources theory, this study integrates the positive and negative aspects of the impact of servant leadership behaviors on their own in the hospitality industry. Using leaders’ and followers’ paired data from 346 employees nested in 101 teams and analyzed using path regression methods. The results reveal that servant leadership behaviors were positively related to the leader’s ego depletion, and the leader’s ego depletion was positively associated with the leader’s intention to leave. Servant leadership behaviors were positively related to leaders’ perceived work meaningfulness, and followers’ agreeableness significantly moderated the relationship between servant leadership behaviors and leaders’ ego depletion and the relationship between servant leadership behaviors and leaders’ perceived work meaningfulness. These findings broaden our understanding of the effects of servant leadership behaviors and provide new ideas on how to intervene in the negative effects of servant leadership behaviors.

Navigating work-family conflict, entrepreneurial passion, and entrepreneurial exit intention amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai

Drawing upon the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study examines the relationship between Work-Family Conflict (WFC) and entrepreneurial exit intention, as well as the mediating role of entrepreneurial passion and the moderating role of external relationship embedding, in the context of the pandemic in Shanghai. Based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and data at multiple time points from 389 entrepreneurs, results indicate that there is a positive relationship between WFC and entrepreneurial exit intention among entrepreneurs during the pandemic. Entrepreneurial passion plays a critical mediating role between WFC and entrepreneurial exit intention through the lens of resource loss. External relationship embedding, as a vital external resource provider, plays a moderating role in the relationship between WFC and entrepreneurial passion. It also moderates the mediating role of entrepreneurial passion in the relationship between WFC and entrepreneurial exit intention. Overall, this research broadens the existing COR theory from the perspective of resource gains and losses and investigates the complicated interplay between WFC, entrepreneurial outcomes, and external relationship networks. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in this work.

Expatriate Academics’ Positive Affectivity and Its Influence on Creativity in the Workforce Indigenization Context: Revealing the Role of Perceived Fairness

Workforce indigenization in Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries is under-researched in international business literature, especially among expatriate academics from the Middle East and North Africa regions working in GCC countries. Therefore, drawing from the social exchange and conservation of resources theories, this study examines the moderating effect of perceived fairness on the relationship between positive affectivity (PA) and creativity in the context of enhanced indigenization of human resource (HR) policies in GCC countries. This study collects data from 228 mobile academics working in Saudi universities. Principal least squares structural equation modeling results show that PA positively impacts creativity. Further, perceived fairness is found to reinforce the connection between PA and creativity. This study’s results indicate that host universities must build appealing HR policies to cope with the diverse challenges related to the indigenization of HR policies. Furthermore, this study highlights the role of positive personality traits in enhancing creativity.

Incivility and engagement: the role of emotional exhaustion and psychological capital in service organizations

Purpose Based on the conservation of resource theory and the affective events theory, the study aims to explore the role of workplace incivility in predicting work engagement through emotional exhaustion and how psychological capital moderates this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Using the questionnaire survey with a sample of 278 restaurant employees in Ghana and through process macro analysis, the hypotheses were tested. Findings The results depict the mediating role of emotional exhaustion on the workplace incivility–engagement relationship. Also, the level of an individual’s psychological capital buffers the impact of workplace incivility on engagement through emotional exhaustion. When psychological capital is high, the negative effect of workplace incivility on work engagement through emotional exhaustion weakens. Practical implications The findings suggest that organizations, particularly those in developing economies in Africa, can derive immense benefit from giving psychological capital training to employees to help buffer the effects of incivility on engagement through emotional exhaustion. Originality/value With a focus on a developing economy in Africa, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is novel in exploring the mediating and moderating mechanisms of the incivility–engagement relationship.

Establishing a Recovery Menu to Increase the Resilience of Entrepreneurs

AbstractBuilding on the Effort Recovery Model and Conservation of Resources Theory, this study provides new theoretical and empirical insights into how entrepreneurs increase their resilience by engaging in recovery experiences. Employing a longitudinal repeated survey design applied to 346 entrepreneurs, our findings reveal that control is the only recovery experience that directly influences resilience. We also uncover more complex indirect pathways through positive reappraisal and sleep. Overall, the study demonstrates that each recovery experience has a unique relationship with resilience, allowing us to theorize potential underlying mechanisms for how recovery translates into resilience. We offer practical suggestions for effective interventions addressing the recovery paradox in entrepreneurship during times of change and uncertainty.

Impact of Food Packaging Materials on the Shelf-Life and Quality of Packaged Food Products

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the impact of food packaging materials on the shelf-life and quality of packaged food products. Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. Findings: The findings reveal that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to food packaging materials on the shelf-life and quality of packaged food products. Preliminary empirical review revealed that the choice of packaging material significantly influenced the preservation and quality of food items. Various studies demonstrated that different materials, such as plastics, biodegradable polymers, and paper-based materials, offered distinct advantages depending on the specific food product. While plastics provided excellent barrier properties, concerns over environmental sustainability led to increasing interest in alternative materials. The study emphasized the importance of balancing functional requirements with environmental considerations and highlighted the need for ongoing research and innovation in developing sustainable packaging solutions. Overall, the findings underscored the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure the safety, freshness, and sustainability of packaged food products. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Diffusion theory, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Conservation of Resources theory may be used to anchor future studies on food packaging materials on the shelf-life and quality of packaged food products. The study provided several recommendations that contributed to theory, practice, and policy in the field of food packaging. It recommended further exploration into theoretical frameworks surrounding consumer behavior and perception, as well as the adoption of a holistic approach to packaging design and optimization. Additionally, the study advocated for the development of evidence-based guidelines and regulations, implementation of supply chain traceability initiatives, and labeling regulations to enhance consumer trust and encourage the use of sustainable packaging materials. These recommendations aimed to foster innovation, transparency, and accountability throughout the food packaging value chain to ensure the safety, quality, and sustainability of packaged food products.

How overloaded employees can use resilience and forgiveness resources to overcome dissatisfaction and maintain their knowledge-sharing efforts

Purpose Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this study aims to examine how employees’ experiences of excessive workloads may direct them away from efforts to share knowledge with other organizational members, as well as the circumstances in which this process is more or less likely. To untangle the process, the authors predict a mediating role of job dissatisfaction and moderating roles of two complementary resources that help employees cope with failure: resilience as a personal resource and organizational forgiveness as an organizational resource. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were gathered from employees of an organization that operates in the construction retail sector. The Process macro provides an empirical test of the moderated mediation dynamic that underpins the proposed conceptual framework. Findings The statistical findings affirm that an important channel through which employees’ perceptions that their work demands are unreasonable escalate into a diminished propensity to share knowledge is their lack of enthusiasm about their jobs. Their ability to recover from challenging work situations and their beliefs that the organization does not hold grudges against people who commit mistakes both mitigate this harmful effect. Practical implications For organizational practitioners, this research shows that when employees feel frustrated about extreme work pressures, the resource-draining situation may escalate into diminished knowledge sharing, which might inadvertently undermine their ability to receive valuable feedback for dealing with the challenges. From a positive perspective, individual resilience and organizational forgiveness represent resources that can protect employees against this negative spiral. Originality/value This study explicates an unexplored harmful effect of strenuous workloads on knowledge sharing, which is explained by employees’ beliefs that their organization fails to provide satisfactory job experiences. This effect also is mitigated to the extent that employees can draw from valuable personal and organizational resources.

Mistreatment of nurses by patients and its impact on their caring behaviors: The roles of psychological detachment and supervisor positive gossip.

Mistreatment by patients is a detrimental phenomenon predominant in healthcare organizations. However, there is a lack of nursing literature regarding the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions that exist between mistreatment by patients and its detrimental consequences. By integrating the Job Demands-Resources Model and the Conservation of Resources Theory, the study aimed to unveil the mediating role of psychological detachment from work in the relationship between mistreatment by patients and nurses' caring behaviors, as well as the moderating effect of supervisor positive gossip. This multicenter, cross-sectional study involved 341 nurses from five hospitals across two cities in Egypt. Data were collected using an introductory information form, the Mistreatment by Patients Scale, the Psychological Detachment Scale, the Caring Behaviors Scale, and the Supervisor Positive Gossip Scale. The study's hypotheses were tested using the PROCESS macro. The results showed that mistreatment by patients was negatively related to nurses' caring behaviors via an increased psychological detachment. Further, higher levels of supervisor positive gossip were shown to weaken the direct effect of mistreatment by patients in increasing nurses' psychological detachment, as well as the indirect negative effect of mistreatment by patients on nurses' caring behaviors via psychological detachment. Mistreatment by patients contributes to nurses' psychological detachment and decreased caring behaviors; however, these negative outcomes can be mitigated by supervisor positive gossip. Nursing managers should adopt strategies to deter the rise of mistreatment by patients, and utilize positive gossip to support nurses exposed to such mistreatment to alleviate its consequences.

Foregrounding why and when inclusive leadership triggers customer stewardship in hospitality organizations

Purpose This study aims to investigate the potential positive correlation between inclusive leadership and hotel frontline employees’ (FLEs) customer stewardship (CS) behavior, using the conservation of resource theory as its foundation. It hypothesizes that role breadth self-efficacy (RBSE) acts as a mediating factor in this relationship, with employee conscientiousness serving as a significant moderating variable. Design/methodology/approach A time-lagged survey design was used, spanning over three rounds to collect data from 348 hotel FLEs and 42 managers. The analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling in Mplus version 8.6. Findings The study revealed a positive association between inclusive leadership and FLE CS, both directly and indirectly through RBSE. The results also showed that FLE conscientiousness moderated the direct link between inclusive leadership and RBSE, as well as the indirect link between inclusive leadership and FLE CS. Practical implications The evidence suggests that inclusive leadership behaviors among hospitality managers may elevate FLE CS behaviors, implying significant benefits for the success of hospitality organizations. Managers should focus on enhancing FLEs’ RBSE to further improve CS behaviors. In addition, by considering FLE conscientiousness, managers can craft targeted strategies to maximize the impact of inclusive leadership on CS behaviors. Originality/value This research contributes to the limited body of knowledge on the precursors of CS behavior by explaining both direct and indirect connections with inclusive leadership. Furthermore, it broadens the understanding of the conditions under which leadership most effectively shapes such behaviors.

Tit for tat? A study on the relationship between work connectivity behavior after-hours and employees' time banditry behavior.

Based on Conservation of Resources Theory, this study tries to reveal the mechanism of action of work connectivity behavior after-hours triggering employees' time banditry behavior. By using Mplus7.4 software the analysis of 429 leader-employee paired data collected in three stages reveals that work connectivity behavior after-hours has a positive effect on work alienation and psychological distress. Work alienation and psychological distress mediates the relationship between work connectivity behavior after-hours and employees' time banditry behavior, respectively. In addition, organization-based self-esteem mitigates the positive effects of work connectivity behavior after-hours on work alienation and psychological distress, which in turn also moderates the indirect effects of work connectivity behavior after-hours on employees' time banditry behavior through work alienation and psychological distress, respectively. This study provides practical guidance for organizations to reduce employee time banditry behavior and human resource management practices in the new technological environment.

Financial Worries, Health Complaints, and Career Exploration: The Role of Action Crises

AbstractFinancial worries, a distressing emotional state prompted by perceived threats to financial resources, are particularly prevalent among employees during economic downturns. This study investigates associations between financial worries and employees’ health and career behaviors, drawing on conservation of resources theory and the self-regulation literature. We propose that financial worries are not only positively related to health complaints, but also positively related to employees’ career exploration as a coping mechanism. In addition, we explore how financial worries are associated with action crises—internal conflicts about whether to leave one’s job—and how these crises may help explain the relationships between worries and employee outcomes. In a two-month time-lagged study with 312 employees, we observed a positive association between financial worries and health complaints, but no significant association with career exploration. Furthermore, the experience of an action crisis mediated the relation between financial worries and health complaints. Action crises were positively related to subsequent career exploration, and we established a significant indirect effect of financial worries on career exploration through action crises. This research contributes to a better understanding of the potential health-related and behavioral outcomes of financial worries by introducing action crisis as a cognitive–emotional mechanism. It also expands the limited research on antecedents and consequences of action crises and responds to calls for research on the predictors of career exploration as a career self-management behavior. We discuss the study’s implications for theory, research, and practice in light of the its limitations.

Financial Loss and Financial Well-Being of Emerging Adults During COVID-19: The Limitations of Psychological Resilience

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging adults are especially vulnerable as they experience its financial impact as a source of stress. We tested a model of psychological resilience among emerging adults (18–25 years) during the pandemic from six Western countries (Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, and United States) using online survey data collected between May and September 2020. Framed in the conservation of resources theory, we examined the association between financial loss and financial well-being and the moderating role of psychological resilience in the association. Using path analysis, we found a direct negative association between financial loss and financial well-being, a direct positive association between psychological resilience and financial well-being, but no evidence of moderation. We discuss the findings in the context of continuing global economic uncertainty and the support needed to foster adult independence and financial well-being of emerging adults.

Gain and loss cycles revisited: What to consider when testing key assumptions of conservation of resources theory

In this editorial, we discuss approaches to the empirical test of gain and loss cycles as described within Hobfoll's conservation of resources theory (COR). We present COR theory's basic assumptions about gain and loss cycles and critically discuss typical empirical studies that aim at testing these assumptions. We highlight conceptual and empirical problems when testing gain and loss cycles of resources and provide guidance for researchers with respect to theoretical, temporal, and data-analytic aspects. We offer some suggestions for constructive replications and reproducibility.

How Employee Career Sustainability Affects Innovative Work Behavior under Digitalization

The increasing adoption of cutting-edge technologies, such as cloud computing and machine learning by robots that replace human workers, has posed serious challenges to employees’ career sustainability (CS), affecting their innovative work behavior (IWB). As the digitalization of the workplace continues to progress as normal, further investigations into the relationship between CS and IWB are urgently required. In response, we investigate the relationships among CS, IWB, human capital (HC), and user resistance (UR). Using data collected from 537 employees in Chinese high-tech enterprises, structural equation and regression analyses were performed. Our results reveal that (1) three dimensions of CS (career renewability, career flexibility, and career integrity) are positively related to IWB, while the fourth dimension of CS (career resourcefulness) exerts inverted U-shaped influences on IWB, and (2) there is a significant dual moderating effect between UR and HC on the four dimensions of CS and IWB, with the former demonstrating a negative effect and the latter showing a positive effect. These findings offer valuable insights for global managers and policymakers to more appropriately implement HR practices in this highly competitive international market. Adopting a conservation of resources theory (COR) framework and the Job Demands–Resources model (JD-R), we theoretically elucidate how different dimensions of CS serve as personal resources for IWB in the digitalized context, thereby enriching the literature on innovative behavior and career development.

Middle Managers’ Role Overload, Workplace Anxiety, and Resistance to Change: The Moderating Effect of Emotion Regulation Strategies

Middle managers play a pivotal role in organizational change. However, little is known about the antecedents of middle managers’ resistance to change. Drawing from the conservation of resource theory, this study examines the impact of middle managers’ role overload on their resistance to change. We collected time-lagged data from 242 middle managers in China. Our results show that middle managers’ role overload is positively related to resistance to change, and that this relationship is mediated by middle managers’ workplace anxiety. Furthermore, emotion regulation strategies moderate the effect of middle managers’ role overload on workplace anxiety as well as the indirect effect of middle managers’ role overload on resistance to change via workplace anxiety. These findings offer theoretical insights into how to effectively implement organizational change and manage middle managers’ resistance to change.

Contextual and personal resources in unemployed job search: An intra‐individual perspective

AbstractDrawing from conservation of resources (COR) theory and the equifinality principle, we challenge the prominent “the‐more‐resources‐the‐better” understanding by examining both the additive and interactive effects of contextual (i.e., networking behaviors and social support) and personal (i.e., job search self‐efficacy) resources on job seeking. Specifically, based on COR theory's resource gain corollary, we propose that higher levels of each resource are positively related to job search intensity and the number of interviews obtained (an additive effect). However, based on the equifinality principle that various resources can contribute to the same goal, we propose that each type of resource can compensate for low levels of the other (an interactive effect). In a four‐wave study following 89 unemployed job seekers over 6 months, we find positive intra‐individual relationships between networking behaviors and job search self‐efficacy with job search intensity. We find that networking behaviors and job search self‐efficacy are also positively related to the number of job interviews obtained and indirectly related through job search intensity for networking behaviors. In line with our predictions, high levels of either networking behaviors or job search self‐efficacy compensate for low levels of the other resource when predicting job search intensity and the number of interviews obtained.

The Fair Share – Multilevel Distributive Justice as Cross-Level Moderator for the Impact of Restructuring Perceptions

ABSTRACT Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, we analyze multilevel restructuring impact perceptions and their association with emotional exhaustion. We explore whether distributive justice at the individual (perceived distributive justice), team, and organizational levels (distributive justice climate) moderates the association of restructuring impact and emotional exhaustion. In total, 1523 employees, nested in 166 teams and 26 organizations, participated in our study. To test our hypotheses, we used Bayesian multilevel modelling. We found positive associations between restructuring impact and emotional exhaustion on all three organizational levels. Distributive justice at the team level cross-level moderated the relationship between restructuring impact and emotional exhaustion at the individual level. Our study contributes a multilevel understanding of restructuring impact, possible consequences for emotional exhaustion, and the moderating role of distributive justice. Furthermore, it substantiates COR theory’s caravan passageway notion, which as yet lacks empirical support. MAD statement This article empirically tests the Conservation of Resources Theory’s central concept of caravan passageways, proving cross-level resource bundles can buffer restructuring impact. Using Bayesian multilevel modelling we show, that restructuring impact and emotional exhaustion are related to each other on various organizational levels and that multilevel distributive justice constitutes resource caravans, which provide support for individuals. We add to change literature by contributing to the understanding of complex cross-level restructuring conditions, and the meaningfulness of higher-order contextual factors for individual outcomes. This is particularly relevant in terms of designing working conditions in order to avoid negative restructuring consequences for individuals.

When humor masks abuse: employee responses to abusive supervision through the lens of relational energy

PurposeDrawing on conservation of resources theory, this study aims to develop a resource-based model depicting a decreased level of psychological resourcefulness – relational energy, as a novel explanatory mechanism that accounts for the harm of abusive supervision, and we further investigate the role of leader humor as a boundary condition.Design/methodology/approachWe applied multilevel path analysis to test our hypotheses with three-time-point survey data collected from 226 supervisor-employee dyads in a telecommunication company in China across six months.FindingsOur results show that abusive supervision is negatively related to employee relational energy, leading to a subsequent decline in employee job performance. The predictions of the depleting effects get alleviated by leader humor.Practical implicationsThis study foregrounds the importance of employee relationship management in the workplace and reveals that some abusive supervisors may manage to sustain employee performance and relational energy by using humor in their interactions, which necessitates immediate intervention.Originality/valueThese findings offer novel insights into the deleterious impact of abusive supervision by demonstrating the critical role of relational energy in dyadic interactions. We also reveal the potential dark side of leader humor in the context of abuse in the workplace.

Motivating language and relational energy to performance: workload as moderator

ABSTRACT This study tests the empirical relationship between motivating language, relational energy, and in-role performance, by drawing on the conservation of resources theory (COR). It further tests the moderating role of workload between relational energy and in-role performance. Time-lagged data (n = 362) were collected from the Cambodian hospitality industry using convenient and purposive sample techniques, and analysed using SmartPLS. Motivating language significantly and positively correlates with relational energy and in-role performance. Relational energy has a positive relationship with in-role performance and mediates positive link between motivating language and in-role performance. Workload moderates (significantly weakens) the relational energy and in-role performance relationship. Findings add value to COR by testing relational energy as a mediator and workload as a moderator. Practical implications are discussed.

Invigorating the spirit of being adaptive: Examining the role of spiritual leadership in adaptive selling

This study investigates the role of spiritual leadership in shaping salesperson adaptive-selling behavior, a crucial factor for enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Despite its significance, research on the leadership-adaptive selling link remains limited. Grounded in the conservation of resources theory, this study predicts that spiritual leadership is positively associated with adaptive selling. The present work also examines the mediating and moderating roles of salesperson trait resilience and salesperson political skill, respectively. Our results based on data from 505 supervisor-salesperson dyads corroborated our predictions. Specifically, the results reveal that spiritual leadership positively impacts adaptive selling directly and via resilience. Further, our findings illustrate that salespeople high on political skill benefit more from spiritual leadership to enhance their resilience and adaptive selling. This study provides actionable insights for managers to foster their salespeople’s resilience and promote adaptive selling to improve organizational effectiveness.