Employee Advocacy Research Articles

How dialogic vaccine communication in the workplace facilitates employee advocacy for COVID-19 vaccine uptake

ABSTRACT Encouraging employees’ vaccine uptake and motivating their vaccine advocacy are crucial steps to secure workplace health and safety during the current pandemic. Yet, how to achieve those steps remains challenging. To address this challenge, this study examines whether and how companies’ vaccine communication efforts with employees, particularly dialogic communication, can motivate employees’ advocacy behaviors for COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Specifically, by drawing insights from public relations, management, psychology, and health communication research, we predict that organizations’ dialogic communication will enhance employees’ perceptions of organizational support for vaccination, which will further increase employees’ positive emotions while decreasing their negative emotions toward the vaccines. These emotional states will ultimately contribute to employees’ vaccine advocacy. An online survey among 505 full-time U.S. employees supported our predictions. Our study advances public relations, organizational communication, and workplace health scholarships and practice by revealing the under-explored role of workplace communication in promoting public health.

Increasing employee advocacy through supervisor motivating language: The mediating role of psychological conditions

To fill the research gap and expand the body of knowledge on leadership communication and internal communication, the current study investigates the effect of leader motivating language on psychological safety, job meaningfulness, and psychological availability, and employee advocacy in the United States and India. Through a web survey of 441 participants from the U.S and 354 participants from India, the study confirmed that leader motivating language is positively related with psychological safety, job meaningfulness, psychological availability, and employee advocacy in the United States and India. The study also looked at the relationship that psychological safety, work meaningfulness, and psychological availability have with employee advocacy, a concept that has been described as an indicator of public relations effectiveness and the ultimate test of a relationship between an organization and its employees.

The effects of leadership in corporate social advocacy on positive employee outcomes

ABSTRACT Despite the growing attention to corporate social advocacy in the extant literature, little empirical research has examined the effects of corporate social advocacy in the context of employees. The purpose of this study was to delve into the impact of leadership in corporate social advocacy (CSA) on positive employee outcomes, using data from an online survey of full-time employees working in various corporations in the United States. Controlling for the participants’ tenure, demographic information, and company size, this study found that leaders’ facilitation of corporate social advocacy strongly influenced employee advocacy for their organizations, which was also significantly mediated by employees’ personal identification with the leader and by employee–organization relationship (EOR) quality.

Influencer marketing within business-to-business organisations

This study explores the dynamics of influencer marketing in the B2B sector by drawing on employee advocacy, customer reference marketing and organisational endorsement theories, explicating the strategic application of influencer marketing in the B2B context, and revealing the challenges in influencer marketing faced by B2B organisations. We conducted twenty-two in-depth semi-structured interviews with senior management marketing professionals across different sectors. Our analysis of these narratives shows that B2B marketers advocate the concept of ‘influential marketing’ by differentiating it from the concept of influencer marketing in the B2C market. B2B influential marketing connotes trustworthiness, expertise, professionalism, and exchange of know-how, all of which are rooted in long-term and industry-specific relationships and business networks. This research contributes to the theorisation of B2B influential marketing by developing an integrated framework that deciphers the process of its strategic implementation. The vital managerial contributions in our study highlight the specific considerations for influential marketing in B2B organisations.

The relationship between works councils and firms’ further training provision in times of technological change

AbstractParticipating in further training is strategically important for employees to ensure their employability. Particularly for employees in low‐skilled jobs, works councils — firm‐level organizations that represent employees — constitute an important employee advocacy instrument in European countries, such as France and Germany. With comprehensive co‐determination rights, works councils can influence firms’ hiring policies, job design and career paths (e.g. promotions). Using German firm‐level data, we empirically investigate the influence of works councils on firms’ training provision for employees in firms below and above the industry level of technology. The results show that works councils have a positive effect on the percentage of employees in general, and of employees in low‐skilled jobs in particular, participating in training, but only for firms below the industry level of technology. These results show the importance of works councils in supporting training in such firms and enhancing the employment prospects of employees in low‐skilled jobs. In contrast, firms above the industry level of technology invest in training with or without a works council, indicating that the training interests of employers and employees are aligned.

Diminishing Returns to Social Capitalist Firms and Their Employee Advocates: Evidence from WeChat

When employees act as advocates on their firms’ behalf, their personal social media networks provide a potentially powerful platform for social capitalistic companies to access a broad audience. Existing theories exploring employee advocacy and companies’ social capitalistic efforts essentially assume, however, that employees willingly act as a tertius iungens, linking firms with potential job-, information-, or product seekers from their social networks, and that employees’ contacts are interested or—at worst—neutral message recipients who respond to the information they want, and ignore the rest. However, a motivated information processing view, proffering information overload and audience preference for uniqueness, would predict audience disconnect from company efforts and possibly adverse relational effects for overly zealous employees. Reconciling these perspectives, we theorize that firms that push their employees to act as their advocates on social media will be rewarded, but will see diminishing returns in information diffusion and audience attention. We test and find support for our hypotheses on a unique data set of 3,050 company messages sent on two Chinese interior design companies’ combined 2,162 employees’ WeChat Moments with 200,240 readers. Both company and employee “push” efforts and message recipients’ “pull” (due, e.g., to the fear of missing out) do increase message diffusion, but there are diminishing returns for employees posting messages in terms of reader count and attention. These findings contribute to our understanding of the limits of utility for social capitalist firms leveraging their employees’ networks and the relational costs employee advocates experience in promoting their firms, and help to better define the boundaries between potential and activated social capital.

Symmetry, inclusion and workplace conflicts: conflict management effects of two leadership strategies on employee advocacy and departure

PurposeThis research aims to examine how two management strategies (symmetrical communication and inclusive management) work in handling workplace conflicts (interpersonal/organizational levels), especially with regard to employee advocacy and job turnover intentions.Design/methodology/approachA total of three employee survey datasets were used to test hypotheses and research questions. Two secondary datasets were obtained in South Korea (N = 600 and N = 285), and one dataset was collected in the USA (N = 381). A series of hierarchical multiple regressions were performed for each dataset.FindingsAll three studies showed that interpersonal workplace conflict increased not only job turnover but also advocacy. In addition, in South Korean employees, both symmetrical communication and inclusive management increased employee advocacy and decreased job turnover intentions. However, in the US data, only symmetrical communication had such effects, enhancing employee advocacy and lowering job turnover intentions.Originality/valueThe study provides insights for practitioners into how to handle workplace conflicts from the perspective of communication (symmetrical communication) and/or behavioral strategies (inclusive management). Also, as an index to examine the effectiveness of management strategies, this study suggests advocacy behavior of employees given its effect of “rallying the troops.”

Impact of Demographics and Certifications on Awareness of Safety Management Practices

Abstract: This research work primarily contributes to determining the findings through the Role of human resource management to ensure occupational health and safety system in the construction industry in Tata Housing Development and Construction Division, Gurgaon for ensuring the aspects of safety management. Just because HR is part of an organization's management team doesn't imply it doesn't play a vital role in employee advocacy. This is especially true when employees raise concerns about their health and safety, or when management try to cut corners, conceal dangers, or neglect to disclose workplace incidents in the construction business. The goal of this research is to provide a human asset management viewpoint on the occupational health and safety management framework.

When transparent leadership communication motivates employee advocacy: Testing the mediator roles of employee attributions in CEO activism

This study examined employees’ self-serving and genuine attributions of CEO activism as mediators, focusing on how they explain the process through which CEO’s transparent leadership communication impacts employees’ company advocacy and issue advocacy behaviors. With a survey of U.S. full-time employees, results showed that genuine attribution mediated the influence of transparent leadership communication on both advocacy variables. However, self-serving attribution was not identified as a significant mediator. Furthermore, though transparent leadership communication was not significantly associated with self-serving attribution, the latter was positively related to both issue advocacy intention and company advocacy intention. Highlighting the mediating roles of employee attributions, the findings of this study provide an advanced understanding of employee advocacy behaviors as impacted by transparent leadership communication in CEO activism.

The impact of LinkedIn posts on employer brand perception and the mediating effects of employer attractiveness and corporate reputation

PurposeThe aim of this study is to identify the relationship between employee-generated content (EGC) and firm-generated content (FGC) in the form of LinkedIn posts, employer brand perception, and the effect of employer's attractiveness and corporate reputation on this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis study comprises two phases. In phase 1, the focus was on stimuli selection through an online questionnaire on favourability. In phase 2, for the main study, data were gathered through an online survey from 214 information technology (IT) employees via a survey. Multiple linear regression and mediation analyses were conducted.FindingsThe results show that EGC and FGC have a positive influence on employer brand perception, and the relationship is positively mediated by employer attractiveness and corporate reputation. These findings suggest that organizations can strategically use their own as well as employees' LinkedIn accounts, and encourage employee advocacy initiatives to attract new talent, enhance attractiveness and corporate reputation.Originality/valueThe study covers two different categories of content – employer and employee-generated – and examines both content types' influence on employer brand perception. It adds to the body of literature regarding employee branding and paves the way for further research in employee advocacy.

How leader–member exchange affects job embeddedness and job dedication through employee advocacy

PurposeCompatible with the principles of leader–member exchange (LMX) theory and social exchange theory (SET), the study explores the effect of LMX on job embeddedness and job dedication and the mediating role of employee advocacy.Design/methodology/approachThe data were gathered via a survey at four hotels in Izmir. To test the reliability and validity, 194 valid questionnaires were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesized relationships.FindingsThe results show that high quality LMX and employee advocacy increase the hotel employees' job embeddedness and job dedication. In addition, the results show that employee advocacy has a partial mediating effect on the relationships between LMX and job embeddedness, and between LMX and job dedication.Originality/valueAlthough past researches have examined both various determinants of employee job embeddedness and job dedication, and consequences of high-quality LMX, they have ignored a critical factor, which is employee advocacy. This current study addresses this research gap by investigating the interrelations between LMX and job embeddedness, and job advocacy through employee advocacy in hotels. Moreover, this research is the first empirical study that analyzes the relationships between LMX, job embeddedness, job dedication and employee advocacy in the same model. Therefore, this research contributes to hospitality literature by filling this gap.

Culture and internal communication in Chile: Linking ethical organizational culture, transparent communication, and employee advocacy

The current study examines how an ethical organizational culture relates with employee advocacy behaviors through the mediating role of transparent communication and perceived relationship investment. Through a quantitative survey with 350 employees who work for a variety of organizations, the study’s results indicated that an ethical organizational culture plays a critical role in nurturing transparent communication and perceived relationship investment, which in turn, cultivate employee advocacy behaviors. Additionally, the impact of transparent communication on employee advocacy is partially mediated by perceived relationship investment. Relevant theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Antecedents and Consequences of Job Embeddedness in the Egyptian Hospitality Context

Although there are a growing body of studies on the influence of job embeddedness on turnover intention, few researches have been conducted on the drivers and outcomes of job embeddedness. Thus, this paper seeks to examine the drivers and outcomes of job embeddedness in the Egyptian hotels context. Data were collected from employees in the Egyptian hotels. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. The results indicated that organisational support, employee advocacy, organisational rewards, and procedural justice are key drivers of job embeddedness. Furthermore, job embeddedness is related to organisational commitment and turnover intention. This study provides implications for the hospitality industry.

Leadership and Internal Communication: Linking Servant Leadership, Communication Satisfaction, and Employee Advocacy

ABSTRACT To fill the research gap and expand the body of knowledge on leadership and internal communication, the current study is among the first that investigates the effect of servant leadership on employee advocacy through the mediating role of communication satisfaction and employee-organization relationships (EORs). Through a web survey of 777 employees working in medium and large organizations in the United States, the study confirmed the relationship between servant leadership and communication satisfaction, and that supervisory communication satisfaction is positively related to EORs. Additionally, the study provides empirical evidence for the relationship between servant leadership and employee advocacy. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Creating Organizational Authenticity and Identification: Effect of Leaders’ Motivating Language and Impact on Employee Advocacy

This study surveyed 482 employees in the United States to test the impact of leaders’ motivating language on employee advocacy. In addition, the study tested the mediating role of perceived organizational authenticity and employee organizational identification. Results suggested that motivating language is not directly related to employee advocacy. However, an indirect relationship is observed through two mediating processes: (1) serial mediation of organizational authenticity and organizational identification and (2) single mediation of organizational identification.

INTERPERSONAL TRUST AND EMPLOYEE JOB SATISFACTION OF PRIVATE SECURITY FIRMS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Building trust among individuals especially employees is key to achieving stated objectives. In this sense, building interpersonal trust among employees could translate into several positives which may include satisfaction on the job. This study seeks to ascertain if employees are satisfied or enjoy their job especially when they interact with themselves based on trust. 126 security personnel from 15 private security firms in Rivers State were administered copies of the questionnaire accordingly. Only about 73% representing 92 copies were retrieved successfully and used. Spearman's Rank Order Correlation Coefficient with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to conduct the analysis. The outcome revealed that enhancing interpersonal trust in terms of vertical trust and horizontal trust is essential in improving the level of satisfaction of employees. It was recommended that; Organizations should develop trust in their employee-employer relationships so as to enhance employee engagement and increase employee retention. Organizations should institutionalize trust in their dealings with employees in order to create a flexible working environment that boosts employee productivity. Organizations should encourage trusting work relationships amongst employees to improve communication and reduce employee absenteeism. Organizations should create a working environment that builds trust amongst employees if they must encourage employee advocacy and lower voluntary turnover. Organizational leadership should create amiable climate that builds team spirit, and contribute positive results towards reducing long-term human resource costs.

The effect of corporate social responsibility on employee advocacy behaviors: a perspective of conservation of resources

PurposeDespite past studies revealed the positive effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on consumer advocacy behavior, little research has paid attention to employee advocacy behavior. This research aims to examine the relationship between CSR and employee advocacy behavior, the mediating role of meaningful work as well as the moderating effect of person–supervisor fit on CSR perception – meaningful work relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis study used 263 employee samples to examine the relationship between CSR and employee advocacy behavior and its influence mechanism. Hierarchical regression analyses and bootstrap approach were applied to analyze the data.FindingsThe results show that CSR perception is positively related to employee advocacy behavior, meaningful work mediates the link between CSR perception and employee advocacy behavior, and the strength of the relationship between CSR perception and meaningful work depends on person–supervisor fit.Research limitationsThis study only investigated the effect of perceived CSR on employee advocacy behavior, future studies should explore the alternative mediation mechanism through which external/internal CSR perception or different CSR dimensions influence employee advocacy behavior.Practical implicationsThis study has practical implications for organizational managers. First, firms should undertake CSR practices and make employee interpret them in a right way. Second, meaningful work is of significance for employees and training and development, challenging jobs and job rotation are conducive to create a sense of meaning in employees’ work.Originality/valueThis study discussed how and when CSR influences employee advocacy in the Chinese context.

The Digital Transformation of the Talent Management Process: A Spanish Business Case

The digital transformation means that companies are redefining the process of talent management. Previous models involved functions, practices and processes that ensured a correct flow of employees towards key positions or a generic talent management view. The digital breakthrough, together with the growing panorama of competition for talent in the market, requires a different focus to enable well-grounded and agile decision-making processes in a sustainable world. The current research considers the functions that applied research has established as the limits of talent management, and that are the key topics in an employee life cycle, namely, talent attraction and acquisition, training, evaluation, and development. In addition, new tools such as employee advocacy and/or brand ambassadors have been added towards to draw conclusions about the future trends of talent management. This article examines the employee life cycle of talent attraction, and acquisition, training, evaluation, and development in the study of the main digital tools utilized in the Spanish market, by both national and multinational corporations. The results indicate that future investments are needed to correlate the digital tools and take advantage of a better employee life cycle management. The main results show a rapid increase in the number and variety of tools used in the talent acquisition process, an expanded use of social networks to enhance the scope of those processes, and conversely, a minor use of digital tools for both talent development and talent retention processes.

Bridging employee advocacy in anonymous social media and internal corporate social responsibility (CSR)

PurposeThis study explores the link between internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employee advocacy intention in the anonymous online environment, viewing the positive behavior of employees in anonymous social media as discretionary and altruistic efforts for their organization. Guided by social exchange theory (SET) and relationship management theory, the role of a communal relationship and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is likewise explored.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was conducted with 405 full-time employees in the US.FindingsResults showed that internal CSR positively influences the organization–employee communal relationship as well as OCB. Results further show that the employee-oriented communal relationship plays an important role in increasing OCB, which in turn enhances employee advocacy intention in anonymous social media.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first attempts to conceptualize employees' advocative behaviors in anonymous websites (e.g. Glassdoor) and to explore the antecedents of advocative behaviors, drawing insights from human resources management and internal relations.

Making Employee Influencers: Exploring Personal Branding on Linkedin and if it Leads to Pro-Social Organizational Behaviors or Employee Advocacy

Making Employee Influencers: Exploring Personal Branding on Linkedin and if it Leads to Pro-Social Organizational Behaviors or Employee Advocacy