Conservation Of Resources Theory Research Articles

Beyond the walls of the classroom: the psychodynamics of professional commitment and job involvement among female primary school teachers.

This research used structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the relationship between professional commitment, self-efficacy, psychological resilience, perceived organizational support and job involvement of female teachers in Chinese primary schools. The purpose of the study was to understand how these psychological and organizational factors work together on teachers' job involvement. Based on the questionnaire survey of 596 female teachers in primary schools, the data were collected and analyzed by AMOS software. The results show that professional commitment plays a central role in teachers' job involvement, and self-efficacy and psychological resilience, as important psychological resources, significantly affect job involvement through the mediation of perceived organizational support. The model fitting indicators CFI, RMSEA and SRMR were in line with the acceptance criteria, which verified the adaptability of the hypothesis model. The findings not only reinforce the application of resource conservation theory in the field of education, but also provide school administrators with strategies to improve teachers' job involvement, especially by enhancing the importance of organizational support and resilience. In addition, the results have practical implications for the design of targeted teacher professional development programs.

Linking organizational cronyism, time theft and nurse's proactive behavior: an evidence from public sector hospitals of Pakistan.

The main objective of this study was to understand why employees engage in time theft behavior and what is the behavioral consequence of this deviant behavior. To do this, the conservation of resources theory helps to examine the role of organizational cronyism behind employee time theft behavior and decreased proactive behavior. A three-wave self-administered employee survey was used for data collection. The data were collected through an adopted questionnaire from nurses working in the public sector hospitals of Pakistan. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze data collected from 256 respondents. The results of this three-wave study supported the hypotheses which are: (1) Organizational cronyism positively predicts employee involvement in time theft behavior. (2) Employee time theft behavior negatively impacts their proactive behavior. (3) Organizational cronyism is detrimental to employee proactive behavior. (4) The relationship between organizational cronyism and proactive behavior is mediated by time theft. In the presence of organizational cronyism, employees use time theft as a dysfunctional coping strategy to conserve their valued resources rather than allowing the organization to consume them. Organizational leaders of public sector hospitals must promote merit-based HRM practices to discourage time theft behavior as well as to improve the proactive performances of the nurses. This study is one of the initial attempts to extend the scant literature on the antecedents and consequences of time theft behavior and its dimensions in the South Asian context.

Being resilient to maintain interpersonal stability: resource caravan toward employee creativity

ABSTRACT This study introduces resilience as a personal resource that promotes employee creativity in the face of various obstacles and challenges. Drawing on the notion of resource caravan from conservation of resources (COR) theory, we propose that resilience initiates the resource caravan process wherein employees use and translate personal resources into social resources by maintaining stable interpersonal interactions in their work. Over time, stable interpersonal functions lead to the conservation of internal resources and further generate social resources, which then contribute to employee creativity. The indirect effect of resilience on employee creativity through interpersonal stability is expected to be accentuated by high situational intrinsic motivation, which channels the resource investment to passionate engagements to improve the task and related procedures. Our empirical analysis of field data collected from 144 employees and their supervisors using multiwave and multisource design confirmed our theoretical propositions. The current analysis highlights the significance of resilience that leads to stable interpersonal interactions in predicting creative performance of employees. This study also expands the application of COR theory by illustrating how individual resources help generate a resource caravan to promote employee creativity.

'Learning the Ropes' in a Psychologically Safe Healthcare Environment

Objectives: The main objective of the study is to examine the associations between organizational socialization, psychological safety and job involvement of newly hired nursing professionals in India through the lens of ‘Conservation of resources theory’. The study also explored psychological safety as a mechanism linking organizational socialization and job involvement.Design/Methodology: Data was collected from 286 Indian nursing professionals who recently joined their respective organizations. The cross-sectional data was analyzed using IBM SPSS and POCESS macro model 4. Outcomes: The results reveal that organizational socialization is positively associated with nursing professionals' job involvement, and that this relationship is mediated by feelings of psychological safety. Conclusions: Healthcare organizations can translate the findings into organizational advantages by institutionalizing organizational socialization and thereby increasing job involvement. It was identified that nursing professionals who have undergone organizational socialization processes experience psychological safety, and that it is the latter that is the link between organizational socialization and job-involvement.

For the sake of my job security: examining the effect of age-based stereotype threat on older workers’ knowledge hiding

Purpose Organizations can greatly benefit from the transfer of knowledge from older employees to younger generations. However, older workers often hesitate to share their expertise with their younger colleagues. Grounded in conservation of resources theory and the stereotype threat framework, this study aims at examining the negative impact of age-based stereotype threat on organizational knowledge management. Design/methodology/approach The authors developed a moderated mediation model and collected data from 219 older workers with a time-lagged design to explore the effect of age-based stereotype threat on older workers’ knowledge hiding. Findings The results showed that age-based stereotype threat could lead to knowledge hiding behaviors among older workers due to increased job insecurity, and leader-member exchange can potentially mitigate these effects. Originality/value The findings underscore the detrimental effect of age-based stereotype threat on organizational knowledge management and suggest that organizations should foster an age-inclusive environment to facilitate effective intergenerational knowledge transfer.

Reducing Counterproductive Work Behavior

Abstract: This study explores the effects of mental load and emotional load on counterproductive work behavior (CWB). Building on the conservation of resources theory and the challenge–hindrance stressor framework, we hypothesize that mental load enhances the effort and engagement of employees to accomplish goals and subsequently reduces organizational deviance (e. g., working time fraud), while emotional load, through resource depletion, weakens this relationship. We also suggest that by depleting emotional resources, emotional load could increase interpersonal deviance, with mental load exacerbating this effect due to synergistic effects. The results of a two-wave survey among 303 UK employees show that mental load reduces organizational deviance only when emotional load is low to moderate; when emotional load is high, mental load may even increase organizational deviance. The results also show that emotional load increases interpersonal deviance, irrespective of the level of mental load. The findings underscore the distinct nature of interpersonal and organizational deviance, challenges previous interpretations of the relationship between workplace stressors and CWB, and highlights the importance of considering the complex interplay between different types of stressors in predicting workplace outcomes.

Linking the trickle-down effect of supervisor incivility to turnover intentions in the context of SMEs: a serial mediation model

PurposeBased on conservation of resources theory and incivility spiral theory, this study examines the relationship between supervisor incivility and turnover intentions by investigating the mediating roles of co-worker incivility and emotional exhaustion.Design/methodology/approachA serial mediation model was empirically tested with a sample of 600 employees in Greek small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).FindingsResults indicate that supervisor incivility is linked to turnover intentions in three main ways. Directly, indirectly through emotional exhaustion, and indirectly through the serial mediation of co-worker incivility and emotional exhaustion.Research limitations/implicationsPossible limitations of the study include the sampling techniques and the self-reporting measures for data collection.Practical implicationsFindings attest that owners and managers of SMEs should take note of the trickle-down effect, namely that their own misbehavior will fuel co-worker incivility. Supervisor incivility has cumulative, deleterious consequences on employees, depleting their emotional resources and enhancing turnover intentions, and should therefore be restricted through appropriate practices.Originality/valueFew empirical studies have explored the effects of supervisor incivility on the incivility manifested by others and their impact on turnover intentions. The study enriches the trickle-down effect literature by identifying an additional indirect path linking supervisor incivility and turnover intentions. Further, this study took place in SMEs, a context with limited research in abusive supervision and incivility yet highly pertinent, given that SMEs informality might leave such behavior unchecked.

The influence of different conflict management styles on depressive symptoms in employees: the mediating role of emotional exhaustion.

Although some studies have found that conflict management styles impact employees' levels of depression, the expressions of employees' depressive symptoms under various conflict management styles and the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, a total of 1,312 employees were gathered through an online survey to examine their current depressive status. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, the mediating role of emotional exhaustion in the association between conflict management style and employee depression was further explored. The findings revealed that the prevalence of moderate to severe depression among the workers was 13.9%. Employees with different conflict management styles displayed distinct depression scores. The high coordination style group exhibited a significantly lower depression score compared to the high concession style group. Emotional exhaustion played a mediating role in the impact of both the coordination style and the concession style on employees' depression. It can be seen that the mental health needs of the workplace are imminent. The intervention measures to improve the mental health of employees in the working environment should take into account the cultivation of the coordination style of employee conflict management, reduce their emotional exhaustion, and stay away from depression through the acquisition of constructive and positive coping styles.

Assist me or replace me? Uncovering the influence of AI awareness on employees' counterproductive work behaviors.

Drawing on the conservation of resources theory (COR), the research aims to reveal the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) awareness on employees' mental health and behaviors, particularly examining whether and how employees' AI awareness impacts their counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) in human-intelligence collaborations. Data was collected from 327 Chinese employees who collaborated with AI in sales, manufacturing, logistics, and other industries. The measurement instruments included scales for AI awareness, psychological contract (PC), emotional exhaustion (EE), and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). We used Hayes's PROCESS macro to analyze the data. AI awareness had a significant positive impact on CWB (β = 0.448, p < 0.01). PC and EE play a role as partial mediators in the relationship between AI awareness and CWB. The mediating pathways consist of three sequences: "AI awareness → PC → CWB," "AI awareness → EE → CWB" and "AI awareness → PC → EE → CWB," with the respective contributions to the overall effect amounting to 8.04, 18.53, and 4.91%. Our research contributes to the study of AI in the management field by elucidating the relationship between AI awareness and CWB, as well as the mediating mechanisms of this relationship, which enriches the literature on CWB and expands the understanding of the associations between AI and CWB.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy: How and when supervisor bottom‐line mentality hinders employee creativity

AbstractBased on the conservation of resources theory, this study investigates how and when supervisor bottom‐line mentality (i.e., one‐dimensional thinking that exclusively focuses on economic bottom‐line goals to the neglect of competing priorities) relates to employee creativity. We propose that supervisor bottom‐line mentality reduces employee psychological availability, resulting in decreased employee creativity. Additionally, psychological detachment, which allows employees to recover from job strain and to regain physical energy and psychological resources, serves as a buffer that weakens the indirect negative relationship between supervisor bottom‐line mentality and employee creativity through psychological availability. Empirical analyses using time‐lagged data from 540 employees of a hospital in eastern China (sample A) and 306 academic graduate students in Chinese universities (sample B) support all hypotheses. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

“The Path is Made by Walking”: The Untapped Potential of (the Happiest) Spanish Self-Initiated Expatriates

This study investigates the impact of cross-cultural adjustment and subjective well-being on the achievements and intentions of Spanish self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) regarding their decision to stay abroad or return to Spain. Using resource conservation theory, the research examines how SIEs’ agency influences their adjustment and well-being, thus affecting their achievement and propensity to repatriate. A tailored online survey was administered to Spanish SIEs, incorporating validated scales to cross-cultural adjustment, subjective well-being, and intention to stay abroad. Using non-probability sampling, a final sample of 309 SIEs was obtained. Data analysis employed partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to validate the hypotheses. The results show that improved adjustment and well-being of SIEs correlate with improved achievement and reduced likelihood of repatriation. These results underline the importance of cultural adjustment and subjective well-being in shaping SIEs’ expatriation experiences and their intentions to stay abroad. Furthermore, the research lays the groundwork for future comparative studies and underlines the need for home institutions to facilitate the repatriation process. Moreover, the implications of the findings for management offer ideas for improving the experiences of SIEs abroad and recognising their value as assets to both national and global organizations, while addressing the challenges associated with repatriation.

RESEARCH ON THE INFLUENCE OF WORK STRESS ON INNOVATION BEHAVIOR OF R&amp;D PERSONNEL IN ENTERPRISES

This study, based on the resource conservation theory, investigates how work pressure affects the innovative behavior of enterprise R&amp;D personnel. Through a questionnaire survey of 866 enterprise R&amp;D personnel, the study found that: (1) challenging work pressure has a positive impact on innovative behavior, while blocking work pressure has a negative impact on innovative behavior; (2) work vitality plays a mediating role between challenging work pressure and innovative behavior, while work burnout plays a mediating role between blocking work pressure and innovative behavior; (3) organizational support and error management atmosphere positively regulate the impact of challenging work pressure on innovative behavior, and negatively regulate the impact of blocking work pressure on innovative behavior. This study reveals the mechanism of work pressure affecting the innovative behavior of R&amp;D personnel, and provides inspiration for enterprise management practice.

A STUDY ON THE INFLUENCE MECHANISM OF ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ON THE INNOVATION CAPABILITY OF WORKERS’ KNOWLEDGE

This study investigates how work pressure influences the innovative behavior of R&amp;D personnel in enterprises. The resource conservation theory categorizes work pressure into two types: challenging and blocking, and examines their direct influence on the innovative behavior of R&amp;D personnel, along with the mediating role of work vitality and work burnout. We further explore the moderating role of organizational support and organizational error management. We collect data through questionnaire surveys and perform empirical analysis using statistical tools like SPSS. The research results help enterprises better understand and manage the work pressure of R&amp;D personnel, thereby promoting the generation of innovative behavior.

A Flight Path to Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Continuous Learning between Burnout and Work Performance in Aviation Professionals

The profession of airline pilots is characterized by high levels of stress and a significant risk of burnout. The health emergency period has exacerbated these challenges to health and well-being, with long COVID adding further strain to aviation professionals even in the post-pandemic scenario. In this context, it is essential to promote positive organizational behaviors to reconcile individual well-being with work performance. This study aimed to explore the mechanisms linking burnout to work performance behaviors (i.e., proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity) among pilots, hypothesizing the mediating role of continuous learning behaviors. Based on the Conservation of Resources theory, we posited that burnout depletes pilots’ resources, thereby hindering continuous learning and reducing performance behaviors. Moreover, this study examined the work-related stress factors that could affect burnout and the consequences of performance behaviors on actual performance measured by a flight simulator. Data were collected from 123 pilots through an online survey and analyzed using path analysis. The results revealed that continuous learning mediated the relationship between burnout and work performance behaviors. Furthermore, work-related stress factors were significantly related to burnout, and work performance behaviors were linked to flight simulator performance. Our findings underscored the critical role of continuous learning in explaining the adverse effects of burnout on performance. These insights could inform targeted interventions to promote continuous learning and stress management among aviation professionals, ensuring sustained performance and well-being in the long term.

A moderated mediation approach to deciphering the effects of leader knowledge hiding behaviour in industry 4.0

ABSTRACT Leader knowledge-hiding behaviour (LKHB) has long-term adverse effects on employees and on overall organization performance. Top-down knowledge sharing is vital in Industry 4.0 for employees to acquire essential skills. Grounded in the Conservation of Resources (COR) model, our study presents a moderated mediation model that sheds light on the effects of LKHB. Based on longitudinal data, we found that LKHB leads to job performance decrement and enhances turnover intentions, with LKHB resulting in lower employee intrinsic motivation, underscoring its importance of as a mediating factor. Our findings support the significant influence of enterprise social media (ESM) on the relationship between LKHB and job performance decrement, turnover intentions, and employee phubbing through intrinsic motivation. The study offers new insights into LKHB outcomes and explores underlying reasons thereby broadening COR Theory applications. This research is innovative in its examination of ESM influences on LKHB and suggests strategies to mitigate its detrimental effects.

Overloaded and overwhelmed: Weakened partner aspirations of women public accountants during the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractDespite years of initiatives to improve gender equity in public accounting firms, women continue to be underrepresented at the partner level. Supporting women's aspirations to become partner is important to ensure there are more women in the pipeline of potential partners. However, we argue that challenges during the COVID‐19 pandemic are likely to have negative downstream effects on accounting firms' efforts to improve female partner representation. Therefore, using a survey of 192 certified public accountants (CPAs), we develop and test a theoretical model that examines changes in women's partner aspirations during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Using the conservation of resources (COR) theory, we predict that women experienced disproportionately higher role overload during the pandemic compared to men. We also rely upon COR theory to predict that higher levels of role overload will be associated with weakened partner‐track motivations (i.e., less value placed on the advantages of the partner level and lower willingness to make the sacrifices necessary to pursue the partner level) and weakened partner aspirations. Consequently, we expect that women public accountants experienced weakened partner aspirations through higher role overload during the pandemic. Results support our predictions as we find that women experienced higher levels of role overload, which are associated with weakened partner‐track motivations, which in turn are associated with weakened partner aspirations. In sum, our results suggest that the COVID‐19 pandemic exacerbated pre‐pandemic gender equity challenges within public accounting firms. Fortunately, we also find that higher levels of supervisor support and coworker support help limit role overload and mitigate declines in partner aspirations. We discuss several insights that firms can use to mitigate post‐pandemic declines in women's partner aspirations.

Understanding the role of exploitative leadership in inhibiting service innovative behavior: a moderated mediation model

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate how and when exploitative leadership hinders hospitality employees’ service innovative behavior. Based on the conservation of resource theory, the authors examined the mediating role of relational energy and the moderating impact of sensitivity to interpersonal mistreatment on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Two-wave data collection from 54 hotel leaders and 266 subordinates in China resulted in 266 supervisor–subordinate matched data sets. Structural equation modeling analyses were used for data analysis. Findings Exploitative leadership is negatively related to hospitality employees’ service innovative behavior via diminished employee relational energy. Furthermore, employees with high sensitivity to interpersonal mistreatment experience intensified negative impact of exploitative leadership on relational energy and subsequent service innovation behavior. Research limitations/implications Hotel management must recognize and mitigate the effects of exploitative leadership to foster an environment conducive to service innovation. In addition, hotel managers should be attuned to the employees’ relational energy, recognizing its essential role in driving innovative behavior. Originality/value This research contributes insights into how exploitative leadership style impedes employee service innovation behavior. It further illuminates the role of relational energy as a critical mediator in this relationship.

A multi-level study on principals’ Guanxi-driven impact on teachers’ work and home life: insights from Malaysia

Purpose Guided by the conservation of resources theory, this study aims to present a comprehensive framework examining leadership, Guanxi, work-family conflict and work engagement. It specifically explores how group-level transformational leadership influences individual-level Guanxi and work-family conflict and how these factors, in turn, impact work engagement. Design/methodology/approach The study surveyed 473 teachers in the Klang Valley, Malaysia, and used hierarchical linear modelling. Findings The results reveal that transformational leadership directly enhances non-work relationships, reduces work-family conflict and indirectly predicts increased work engagement. This indirect influence occurs through the mediation of Guanxi and the work-family conflict. Notably, while stronger Guanxi is associated with greater work engagement in the professional sphere, it does not necessarily mitigate the work-family conflict in the personal domain. Originality/value These findings provide valuable insights into maintaining and enhancing work engagement by implementing transformational leadership through more effective channels, such as Guanxi and work-family conflict management.

Exploring the mechanism to understand workaholism effects on positive and negative behaviors: a moderated mediated study

PurposeWorkaholism negatively impacts desired behavioral outcomes. However, understanding the role of workaholism dimensions (excessiveness and compulsiveness) can help differentiate and address employee motivators towards behavioral outcomes. Using conservation of resource theory, this study explores the influence of these workaholism dimensions, as resource-consuming elements, on positive organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). Further, work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC) are included as mediators, and time-control as a moderator, and ultimately, a moderated mediation model is tested.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected using a time-lagged data from 306 New Zealand employee respondents. Data were analysed for moderated mediation using the PROCESS macro.FindingsBoth dimensions of workaholism positively relate to OCBs but only excessiveness to CWBs. We find significant indirect effects of excessiveness and compulsiveness on CWBs through FWC, where time control acts as a boundary condition, showing moderated mediation effects.Research limitations/implicationsFundamentally, the unique effects found encourage workaholism researchers to undertake more complex models to provide new insights.Originality/valueThis is a unique study examining time control as a boundary condition. The findings of moderated mediation provide unique insights and show that workaholism effects depend on other factors.

Counterproductive Work Behaviors to Cope With Person-Organization Misfit

A random sample of employees was surveyed to explore the effect of person-organization fit on counterproductive work behaviors. There was a significant negative relationship between person-organization fit and counterproductive work behaviors. A lack of person-organization fit may be construed by employees as a depletion of psychological resource. As the conservation of resources theory (Hofboll, 1989) argues, it appears that employees may have replenished the loss of this psychological resource (person-organization fit) by engaging in counterproductive work behaviors. Consequently, organizations should assess the person-organization fit of all employees and prevent the negative consequences of counterproductive work behaviors. The findings have several implications for practitioners.