Direct Supervisors Research Articles

An examination of ethical leadership in academia: a study of accounting faculty

ABSTRACT This study reports on accounting faculty perceptions of ethical tone-at-the-top (TATT) – indicative of ethical leadership – and explores the relationship of TATT to faculty job satisfaction. Both constructs have international applicability. A sample of 539 survey responses from United States accounting faculty provided data for the analyses. Job satisfaction and perceptions of TATT, proxy measured with the Ethical Leadership Scale and the Behavioral Integrity scale, were found significantly and positively related. Most accounting faculty perceived an ethical TATT, and most faculty were satisfied with their jobs. Nevertheless, about a third did not affirmatively indicate that their direct supervisor reflected an ethical TATT and about a fifth did not affirmatively indicate that they were satisfied with their jobs. Female faculty compared to male faculty, and tenured faculty compared to non-tenured faculty, had lower perceptions of the TATT of their direct supervisors and had less job satisfaction. By improving the TATT in accounting departments, academic leaders can perhaps retain more faculty, decrease unethical behaviors, and provide improved ethics training to future accountants.

Organizational Trust, Working Parents in Student Affairs, and the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT How do the actions of higher education leadership impact the trust employees feel in their organization? Using a theoretical framework that suggests that trust is shared, learned, and conditional, we investigate the way the actions of senior leaders and direct supervisors both helped and harmed employees’ trust in their organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on interviews with 25 working parents in student affairs, we found that many felt abandoned by their senior leaders as institutions focused their actions on supporting students, often at the expense of employee health and well-being. Although some individual supervisors were noted for being supportive, their actions often were counter to the dominant culture, leading to overall feelings of disillusionment and distrust. This study’s findings extend far beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, illustrating how institutional behavior can influence employee morale.

Self-Leadership and Task, Contextual, and Creative Performance: The Mediating Role of Job Crafting

Employees' work performance is influenced by a number of factors, including the leadership style of their supervisors. However, in certain situations, despite the fact that managers have dysfunctional leadership styles or they avoid managerial responsibilities, followers perform well. A possible explanation is that employees perform well in such situations because they lead themselves, without needing the influence of direct supervisors. In order to test this hypothesis, we investigated the link between self-leadership and three types of performance: task, contextual, and creative performance. Also, we tested the mediating role of job crafting in the relationships between self-leadership and performance. The study was conducted on a sample of 282 employees. The results indicated that self-leadership is positively associated with the three types of performance. Moreover, job crafting mediates the relationships between self-leadership and all three forms of work performance. From a theoretical perspective, this study suggests that employees can have high performances despite ineffective or absent leaders when they adopt self-leadership strategies. From a practical point of view, our results indicate that organizations may use self-leadership interventions in order to stimulate employees’ job crafting behaviors and performance.

Unethical Pro–Organizational Behavior and Employee Performance in Côte d’Ivoire: The Effects of Leader–Member Exchange and Affective Organizational Commitment

ABSTRACT Unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) that is intended to promote the functioning of the organization but violates ethical norms impacts employees’ in-role performance negatively due to the potential reputational and economic damages that such behavior may cause. Based on social exchange theory, we suggest that leader-member exchange (LMX) and affective organizational commitment moderate the UPB-performance relationship. We test our hypotheses with dyadic data collected in two waves from 218 employees and their 22 direct supervisors working in a federal government ministry in Côte d’Ivoire. Our findings support our hypothesis about the negative effects of UPB on employee performance and show that employees engaging in UPB hurt their own performance appraisal. We also find evidence for the moderating effects of LMX and affective organizational commitment. Our study contributes to a greater understanding of the effects of UPB in public organizations.

Characteristics and Activities of Nurses in Expanded Roles Employed in Swiss Nursing Homes: A Cross-Sectional Study.

As the number of nursing home residents with multiple healthcare needs grows, the demand for nursing expertise increases. The implementation of new care models involving nurses with expanded roles is crucial for ensuring quality care in nursing homes. To investigate the characteristics and activities of nurses employed in nursing homes in expanded roles and the factors associated with variation in the activities performed. This multicentre cross-sectional survey in Switzerland collected data from a convenience sample of 118 nursing homes between September 2018 and October 2019. From a subsample of 62 nursing homes, we analysed the characteristics and activities of 104 nurses in expanded roles. Associations between the activities performed and the educational background of the nurses in expanded roles, their direct supervisors' positions and the presence of physicians in the nursing homes were examined. Most Registered Nurses in expanded roles were diploma educated (48%), with fewer having a bachelor's (35%) or master's degree (17%). Overall, direct clinical practice and guidance and coaching activities were conducted monthly to weekly; consultation, evidence-based practice, collaboration and ethical decision-making activities were conducted monthly. We saw variations where a higher educational background was associated with more frequent evidence-based practice activities (z = 3.47, p < 0.001), and if direct supervisors were ward managers, nurses in expanded roles worked more frequently below their scope of practice (z = 4.10, p < 0.001). This is the first study to use Hamric's integrative Advanced Practice Nursing model to examine the activities of nurses in expanded roles in nursing homes. We found considerable variation in their activities, where nursing homes seem to adapt their roles to their educational background and the local context. Our findings show the importance of clarifying role expectations for Registered Nurses in expanded roles, allowing them to practice at the top of the licence to meet residents' complex healthcare needs.

The gendered character of claims-making: A longitudinal analysis

In this article, we examine the gendered outcomes of career negotiations, which involve employees discussing career advancements with their direct supervisors. We apply relational inequality theory, which conceptualizes career negotiations as instances of relational claims-making, to explain gender differences in returns in terms of hourly wages, occupational status, and subjective perceptions of job advancements. Our empirical approach employs individual fixed-effect models using three waves of unique German linked employer-employee panel data on 2090 employees across 131 workplaces (LEEP-B3; 2012–2019). We find that men discussing career advancements with supervisors, experience pay raises and occupational upward mobility, whereas women do not. Yet, we find only minor gender differences in perceived job advancements following career negotiations. In workplaces with a more balanced gender representation in management and supervisory positions, women’s wage returns from negotiations increase. Although individual negotiations seem to perpetuate gender inequalities, workplace structures can weaken inequality-generating mechanisms.

Participative leadership congruence and employee task performance: the intermediate roles of person-unit fit and unit-member exchange

PurposeParticipative leadership's influence on employee task performance has garnered significant attention in a rapidly evolving organizational landscape. This study explores the multilevel dynamics of participative leadership congruence between unit managers and direct supervisors and its effects on employee task performance.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on two longitudinal studies based on the firms randomly selected from the Taiwan Economic Journal (TEJ) database, the research observes the mediating role of Person-Unit fit and the moderating influence of Unit-Member Exchange in the participative leadership-performance relationship.FindingsThe findings reveal how participative leadership congruence enhances person-unit fit, which in turn benefits employee task performance. Unit-member exchange plays a critical role in augmenting the participative leadership congruence? Person-unit fit? Employee task performance relationship.Originality/valueThe study extends leadership literature by highlighting the significance of leadership alignment across levels and the interplay between psychological and social factors in improving employee performance.

Assessing the Mediating Effect of Team-Member Exchange on the Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Performance of People with Disabilities: A Study of Hong Kong Employers of People with Disabilities

Purpose—This study aims to examine the links between transformational leadership, team-member exchange and job performance of people with disabilities in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach—Data were collected from a sample of 108 direct supervisors of people with disabilities via an online survey with validated scales. The structural equation modelling approach via SmartPLS (Version 3.0) was used to investigate the linear relations and the mediated effect amongst the variables. Findings—Transformational leadership was positively related to team-member exchange (p = 0.013), but its link with job performance was insignificant (p ≥ 0.05). Team-member exchange was positively related to job performance (p = 0.000). Hence, team-member exchange fully mediated the relationship between leaders’ transformational leadership and the job performance of people with disabilities. Originality/value—Transformational leadership is favorable for the job performance of people with disabilities, but its influence is indirect. High level of team-member exchange quality is necessary, as team-member exchange fully mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and the job performance of people with disabilities. Managers should demonstrate transformational leadership to all employees and not only pay attention to people with disabilities. This insight helps drive workplace disability inclusion.

Busting the blackbox between managerial coaching behaviors and employee outcomes from a perspective of discrete emotional process mechanism

PurposeAs coaching assumes an increasingly critical role in satisfying employees' demands for growth, the function of coaching has progressively shifted towards direct supervisors. This study seeks to investigate the distinct effects of managerial coaching behaviors on employee outcomes from an emotional perspective. Specifically, we aim to explore whether leaders' encourage-to-explore and guide-to-learn behaviors impact employees' creativity and performance through discrete emotional mechanisms upon appraisal theory of emotion.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted two studies to test our proposition. In study 1, an experiment using coaching scenarios was performed with 128 students majoring in management. In study 2, data were collected from 311 supervisor-subordinate dyads.FindingsThe results indicate that encourage-to-explore behaviors are positively related to employee creativity by fostering feelings of inspiration, and guide-to-learn behaviors are positively related to employee performance by alleviating anxiety. These findings suggest that different leaders’ coaching behaviors influence employee outcomes through different emotional processes. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed.Originality/valueThese findings suggest that different leaders’ coaching behaviors influence employee outcomes through different emotional processes. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed.

Testing the waters! The role of ethical leadership towards innovative work behavior through psychosocial well-being and perceived organizational support

PurposeIn response to the dynamic demands of the contemporary business landscape, this study critically examines the pivotal role of ethical leadership in shaping employee’s innovative behavior within organizations. Our research delves into the nuanced interplay between ethical leadership, psychological well-being and innovative work behavior. Drawing from the principles of social exchange theory, our study addresses a critical gap in the literature by exploring the mediating role of psychological well-being in the relationship between ethical leadership and employees' innovative work behavior.Design/methodology/approachIn this quantitative research, data were collected from 384 employees and their direct supervisors in Pakistan’s IT sector using “Google Forms” through a convenience sampling method facilitated by the “LinkedIn” platform. Additionally, the study applied a two-stage structural equation modeling approach, first to assess the uni-dimensionality, and subsequently, to evaluate the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe research results unveiled a robust and positive impact of ethical leadership on innovative work behavior, operating through both direct and indirect pathways mediated by psychological well-being. Intriguingly, the moderating role of perceived organizational support adds depth to our understanding, revealing nuanced conditions under which ethical leadership influences employees' well-being and, subsequently, their innovative contributions.Practical implicationsBeyond theoretical contributions, our study provides practical insights for managers seeking to leverage employees' innovative work behavior for organizational success. By emphasizing ethical leadership as a catalyst, we advocate for its integration into HRM practices. However, recognizing the contextual nature of organizational support, our findings underscore the importance of adaptable leadership strategies to maximize positive outcomes.Originality/valueGrounded in the principles of social exchange theory, this research marks a pioneering effort to shed light on the link between ethical leadership and innovative work behavior through the mediation of psychological well-being. Additionally, this study makes a valuable contribution to the current body of knowledge by investigating the contingent influence of perceived organizational support on the relationship between ethical leadership and employees' psychological well-being.

Following community norms or an internal compass? The role of prospective leaders' social category membership in the differential effects of authentic and ethical leadership on stereotype threat.

Increasing racial diversity in organizations remains a challenge, as stereotype threat undermines the performance and career aspirations of minority group members during job recruitment. The present study examines how prospective leaders can leverage their influence on their followers' identities to mitigate the stereotype threat Black individuals face in this context. We explore the effects of two moral leadership styles (ethical vs. authentic) on stereotype threat in the context of recruitment. Specifically, we investigate whether prospective leaders' ingroup status moderates the relationship between ethical versus authentic leadership styles and candidates' stereotype threat during the selection process and candidates' willingness to join the organization. To this end, we conducted four experiments with Black residents of Brazilian favelas (impoverished neighborhoods), two of which included real-world job recruitment processes and physiological measures of stress (i.e., salivary cortisol and blood pressure). The results indicate that when the prospective leaders are from the outgroup, displaying ethical leadership by relying on community norms is more helpful in reducing Black candidates' threat and, in turn, promotes willingness to apply for the job. In contrast, when the leader is from the ingroup, displaying authentic leadership by emphasizing the importance of an internal moral compass is more helpful in reducing threat, and this effect is mediated by the identity process of inclusion of the leader in the self. Overall, the present study suggests that prospective direct supervisors have the critical ability to reduce stereotype threat, which can negatively affect Black applicants and their desire to join organizations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Increasing nurses’ occupational well-being: the role of career shocks, job crafting and supervisor autonomy support

BackgroundThis study aims to explore the influence of career shocks on nurses’ occupational well-being through job crafting and the moderating role of supervisor autonomy support.MethodThe present study used a cross-sectional design. And the study included 714 frontline nurses in China, and we used structural equation modelling (SEM) to test our hypotheses.ResultsJob crafting mediated both the relationship between positive career shocks and occupational well-being and the relationship between negative career shocks and occupational well-being. Supervisor autonomy support moderated the indirect relationships.ConclusionsPositive and negative career shocks could increase and impair nurses’ occupational well-being through job crafting, respectively. We contribute to helping nurses make sense of career shocks and preparing for career shocks, and hospital administrators and nurses’ direct supervisors can help nurse better cope with career shocks in attending job crafting activities and providing more autonomy supports.

Creating public value in frontline teams: an empirical exploration of shared leadership behaviour by frontline officials

ABSTRACT In this study, we aim to provide insight into the way in which frontline officials in teams employ leadership behaviour aimed at creating public value. We conducted 29 in-depth semi-structured narrative interviews with frontline officials and their direct supervisors from three teams in Dutch public organizations, to identify shared leadership behaviours used to stimulate decision-making based on a shared meaning of public value and to facilitate work processes that enable public value creation. Based on these findings, we formulate propositions to further study shared leadership mechanisms by frontline officials, and we point out recommendations to stimulate leadership within frontline teams.

The double-edged sword: investigating when and why supervisor negative feedback promotes versus inhibits employee performance

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate when and why supervisor negative feedback is associated with employees' job performance via two different pathways (i.e. emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping) and to introduce proactive personality as a moderator.Design/methodology/approachTime-lagged data were collected using a field survey research design. Participants included 389 dyads of employees and their direct supervisors from five companies in China.FindingsSupervisor negative feedback can lead to employees' emotion-focused coping, which in turn impairs their job performance. Meanwhile, supervisor negative feedback can trigger employees’ problem-focused coping, which subsequently promotes their job performance. Furthermore, proactive personality moderates the indirect effect of supervisor negative feedback on employee performance through emotion-focused coping.Originality/valueThis study explored the double-edged effects of supervisor negative feedback on employee job performance from a coping strategy perspective and investigated how proactive personality influences the choice of coping strategies.

Driverless metros are coming, but what about the drivers? A study on AI-related anxiety and safety performance

The application of automatic train operation (ATO) systems in rail transit gradually replaces manual labor, greatly impacting metro drivers’ daily work. Building on the cognitive appraisal theory of stress and the socially embedded model of thriving at work, this study explored how drivers’ perception of ATO systems would affect their safety behavior within the workplace, in other words, the psychological and behavioral costs of drivers’ AI-related anxiety. Specifically, we analyzed whether job insecurity and thriving at work would mediate the association between AI-related anxiety and safety performance. We also examined the potential attenuating effects of Human Resource (HR) system strength on AI-related anxiety’s impact on job insecurity, thriving at work, and safety performance. We gathered 364 sets of paired data from Chinese metro drivers and their direct supervisors based on a time-lagged design. Moderated serial mediation analyses revealed that AI-related anxiety exerted a significant serial indirect impact on safety performance via job insecurity and thriving at work. Additionally, we found conditional serial indirect effects of AI-related anxiety on safety performance as a function of drivers’ perceptions of HR system strength. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed for a scholarly and practical understanding of dealing with AI-related anxiety. Metro organizations were recommended to place more emphasis on the HR process to mitigate the costs of drivers’ AI-related anxiety.

Are People More Horrible Than Ghosts? Workplace Haters and Employee Creativity

Based on the cognitive-affective personality system theory and social network theory, this study examines how three common workplace haters influence employee well-being and creativity. It also explores the negative moderating effects of personal social capital and organizational pride. The study utilized 496 valid supervisor-employee dyads (comprising 286 direct supervisors and 496 employees) from 13 companies in Taiwan. The findings revealed that: (1) Workplace haters negatively affect employee well-being; (2) Employee well-being positively affects employee creativity; (3) Employee well-being mediates the relationship between workplace haters and employee creativity; (4) Personal social capital moderates the relationship between workplace haters and employee well-being; and (5) Organizational pride moderates the relationship between employee well-being and employee creativity. Implications for behavioral researchers and human resource managers are discussed.

The impact of core self-evaluations and person-job fit on work-related outcomes.

The aim of this study is to explore the mediating effect of emotional exhaustion (EE) between core self-evaluations (CSE), person-job fit (PJ fit) and service recovery performance (SRP). The current research also examines whether organizational dehumanization (OD) moderates the relationship between two antecedents, EE and SRP. We collected time-lagged and multi-source data from star-rated hotels in three cities in China. In particular, direct supervisors of frontline employees (FLEs) rated their SRP (N = 32 supervisors and their 212 immediate employees). The hypotheses were gauged via PROCESS (version 3.4). The results indicate that CSE and PJ fit alleviate FLEs' EE, which subsequently advances their SRP. OD moderates the direct impact of two antecedents on EE and SRP. Moreover, OD moderates the indirect influence of two antecedents on SRP through EE. The hospitality literature currently lacks an in-depth understanding of the underlying mechanism through which CSE and PJ fit affect FLEs' SRP. This study incorporates EE as a mediator of the CSE's and PJ fit's impact on SRP, and to the authors' knowledge, this is the first attempt to evaluate whether OD moderates the direct influence of CSE and PJ fit on SRP and the indirect impact of CSE and PJ fit on the aforementioned outcome via EE.

How and when humble leadership influences employee adaptive performance? The roles of self-determination and employee attributions

PurposeThe present study aimed to examine the relationship between humble leadership (HL) and employee adaptive performance by testing the mediating role of self-determination and the moderating role of employee attributions of HL.Design/methodology/approachA three-wave, two-source design was used to collect quantitative data from 301 employees and 45 direct supervisors of mainland Chinese enterprises. Testing the hypotheses was conducted through multiple regression analysis and moderated regression analysis.FindingsResults showed that HL was positively related to employee adaptive performance. Additionally, the relationship between HL and employee adaptive performance was mediated by self-determination. Furthermore, this positive effect of HL on self-determination was minimized among employees who attribute HL to impression management motives but is insignificant for employees who attribute HL to performance improvement motives.Originality/valueIt has been widely concerned that the traditional “top-down” leadership styles are associated with employee adaptive performance; however, the role of bottom-up leadership styles on employee adaptive performance has only been sporadically examined. The present study introduced HL, a typical bottom-up leadership style and developed a moderated mediation model to investigate the potential effect of HL on employee adaptive performance. Moreover, by confirming the mediating role of self-determination, the authors further uncover how HL facilitates employees' adaptive performance. Meanwhile, the moderating role of employee attributions of HL found in this study offers new insights into the understanding of the effectiveness of HL.

Power to the people—And then? A multilevel leadership perspective on organizational decentralization

AbstractAs organizations strive for more flexibility, decentralized decision‐making has been at the core of many modern HR approaches. Yet, on a company‐wide scale, it remains unclear whether decentralized decision‐making structures improve organizational performance. Our study aims to illuminate prior ambiguous evidence by examining an employee‐level mechanism underlying the organizational‐level relationship between decentralization and performance, and scrutinizing the critical role of formal leaders for empowering employees in decentralized structures. Integrating the perspective of organizational structure as opportunities and constraints with social information processing theory, we argue that transferring decision‐making authority to lower organizational levels positively affects employees' emergent leadership, but only to the extent that direct supervisors engage in empowering leadership and guide employees' behaviors in decentralized structures. Our predictions are supported by a multilevel, multisource field study of 5807 individuals across 144 companies. We further find that emergent leadership yields a positive effect on organizational performance. By developing a multilevel model that explicates both an employee‐level mechanism and a contingency of the decentralization–organizational performance link, our study enriches understanding of the key role that formal leaders play for achieving the strategic goals of decentralized decision‐making in organizations.

Assessing the impact of employee-centric digital transformation initiatives on job performance: The mediating role of digital empowerment

Background: The wave of digital disruption has been experienced across different industries in the fourth industrial revolution, altering processes and procedures as well strategies of many industries. Purpose - As businesses strive to attain supremacy in their respective industries, reliance on technology has become an inevitable tool for sustainability and competitive advantage. Firms are employing novel business strategies and streamlining their operations by adapting to technology in order to transform digitally. Based on the theory of structural empowerment, we assess, from employees' perspective, the efficacy of key employeecentric digital transformation initiatives, namely, digital skills training and access to digital platforms on employees' performance through the mediating role of employee digital empowerment. Design/methodology/approach - Survey data was collected from a sample 214 employees and their 89 direct supervisors across four banking institutions in China for the purpose of this study. Correlation and regression analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses. Findings - The result of the study showed support for the positive impact of both digital skills training and employees' access to digital platforms at the workplace on job performance and also for the mediating role of employee digital empowerment. This study contributes to the empowerment literature by identifying key structural empowerment initiatives in an organization that enhance employee digital empowerment and performance at the workplace as firms transform digitally. Practical implications - The results of the study suggest that firms should view digital transformation as an employee empowerment tool which, when implemented properly, could help enhance employees' performance and the overall organizational goal achievement potentials. Hence, organizations should align their digital transformation strategy with the needs of its human resource in order to ensure overall success of such transformations. Limitations/future research - The study focuses on the banking sector only. Further research could focus on other industries that are equally affected by the waves of digital disruptions.