Moderated Mediation Hypotheses Research Articles

How does school management team empowerment relate to teachers' organizational citizenship behavior? A moderated mediation model

PurposePrevious studies have examined the empowerment of individual teachers, while neglecting the fact that such a phenomenon might grow within a team. Building on the crossover model and social exchange theory, the aim of this study is to explore whether team empowerment among school management teams (SMTs), is transmitted to the school level and affects schoolteachers' job satisfaction and thereby schoolteachers' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Furthermore, we explored whether those relationships are moderated by team-member exchange (TMX) relationships.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 86 principals, 357 SMT members and 683 schoolteachers from 86 schools.FindingsResults confirmed the mediating role of schoolteachers' job satisfaction, showing a positive relationship between SMT empowerment and schoolteachers' job satisfaction, and between job satisfaction and OCB. The moderation of TMX and the overall moderated mediation hypotheses were not supported.Research limitations/implicationsThe nature of data collected in the current study precludes any inference concerning the direction of casual links among the study constructs. Therefore, longitudinal studies could be designed, aimed at confirming the direction of links among the variables.Practical implicationsThe findings reinforce the impact of schoolteachers' job satisfaction on achieving OCBs. Hence, SMT members carry the responsibility to cultivate satisfied schoolteachers through schools' support mechanisms and guidance in order to achieve schoolteachers' OCB.Originality/valueThe study identifies SMT empowerment as a key factor that may indirectly encourage schoolteachers to invest in OCBs through positive attitudes of schoolteachers' job satisfaction.

Backfire effects of performance quantification on stress and disidentification: The role of metadehumanization in organizations, sport, and social networks.

Quantification, that is, the shaping of human environments in numerical terms, is so widespread in contemporary societies that it has contaminated almost all spheres of human life. We explore the links between performance quantification and individuals' feelings of being treated in a dehumanized way, that is, metadehumanization. We present an integrative research that assessed the relationships between performance quantification, metadehumanization, and on two of metadehumanization's consequences, that is, stress and disidentification, in three contexts, that is, organizations, sport, and social networks. In addition, we test the moderating roles of two individual variables, that is, competitiveness and tender-mindedness, in this model. In three samples (Ns = 204, 300, 297, for Samples A, B, and C, respectively), we show a mediation effect of metadehumanization on the links between performance quantification and stress and disidentification that holds despite of contextual variations. Unexpectedly, our two moderated mediation hypotheses did not hold or showed inconsistent effects across samples.

The Effect of Downward Social Comparison on Creativity in Organizational Teams, with the Moderation of Narcissism and the Mediation of Negative Affect.

Employee creativity has become an essential element for the survival and success of contemporary organizations in the fast-changing business environment. The increased importance of team systems in the flood of information has increased the attention given to creativity in social relationships. This study adopts social comparison theory to propose a framework that shows how social comparisons of creative ability between team members influence individual creativity. In particular, this study focuses on the downward social comparison that individuals frequently experience in real team situations. We adopted multi-source field data collected from 130 employees and supervisors working in a manufacturing company in South Korea. The moderated mediation hypotheses were tested using hierarchical linear modeling to address the dependence of employees rated by the same supervisor, given that employees are nested within supervisors. The effect of downward social comparison on creativity, as mediated by negative affect, is positively moderated by narcissism. Specifically, the conditional indirect effects of downward social comparison on creativity through negative affect were significant and negative when narcissism was high but insignificant when it was low. This research provides novel insights for researchers and practitioners by offering a theoretical elaboration of the effects of social comparison processes on creativity and providing unique empirical validation for the model in the context of teams in actual organizations.

Leaders' emotional labour and abusive supervision: The moderating role of mindfulness.

In this study, we examine how leaders' emotional labour strategies (surface acting and deep acting) deplete leaders' self-control resources to predict abusive supervision, in addition to the moderating role of leader mindfulness. Integrating ego-depletion theory and emotion regulation theory, we hypothesise that deep acting and surface acting predict higher levels of abusive supervision, which is mediated by reduced self-control. Furthermore, we predict that leaders' trait mindfulness moderates the relationship between emotional labour and self-control on abusive supervision. Results from a three-wave study of leader-follower dyads supported mediation hypotheses; both deep and surface acting predicted abusive supervision, which is mediated by reduced self-control. Our moderated mediation hypotheses were supported for deep acting but not surface acting. This research contributes to the literature by demonstrating the depleting nature of emotional labour in leadership and the importance of leader mindfulness as a boundary condition that can make deep acting less harmful for leader behaviour.

How and when temporal leadership facilitates the success of sustainable construction projects

PurposeTemporal leadership is a new construct that predicts team outcomes. This study examines the mediating role of shared temporal cognitions and the moderating role of time pressure in the relationship between temporal leadership and project success within sustainable construction projects.Design/methodology/approachThe multi-source and multi-wave data were collected via self-administered questionnaires from teams working on sustainable construction projects. The direct and mediating hypotheses were tested using multi-level structural equation modelling, while moderated mediation hypotheses were examined by applying the bootstrap method using SPSS Process Macro.FindingsThe results showed that temporal leadership enables project success via shared temporal cognitions. Temporal leadership is most beneficial for facilitating project success via shared temporal cognitions when teams experience high time pressure.Originality/valueThis is the first study examining shared temporal cognitions as a mediator of the relationship between temporal leadership and project success. Also, this is the first study that considered time pressure as a boundary condition that influences the relationships between temporal leadership, shared temporal cognitions and project success within sustainable construction projects. The study provides valuable advice to project managers and project-based construction organizations about using and managing time within projects.

Influence of relational learning and job autonomy in associations between social capital resources and newcomer adjustment: a moderated mediation study

PurposeThis study aims to test the propositions of socialization resources theory, specifically focusing on social capital resources and their prediction of proximal (relational learning) and distal (job satisfaction and intent to quit) outcomes. The authors include the job design characteristic of job autonomy as a moderator of these associations.Design/methodology/approachCheung et al.’s (2021) four-step SEM procedure was used to test our mediation, moderation and moderated mediation hypotheses. The sample consisted of newcomers (N = 175) measured at two time points.FindingsThe results support the proposed model. Relational learning mediates the associations between social capital resources and outcomes; the utility of these social capital resources is stronger when job autonomy is lower.Practical implicationsOrganizations can use social capital resources to reduce newcomers' uncertainty during socialization, facilitating learning and positive outcomes. Organizations should also carefully consider the amount of job autonomy they grant to newcomers, as too much can be detrimental.Originality/valueDespite the acknowledged importance of workplace resources and relationships, few studies have focused on social resources provided during socialization. Moreover, job design is rarely included in socialization research, despite its influence on workplace processes. Thus, this study provides information about two novel areas of investigation: socially-oriented socialization resources and the impact of job autonomy.

I Am Impacted by Your Motives Than Your Abuse: Effects of Abusive Supervision on Dysfunctional Voice

Abusive supervision undermines subordinate’s extra role behaviors such as voice. However, certain subordinates see positive motives in their supervisor’s abusive behaviors. Taking insights from the attribution-based theory of workplace harassment, we suggest that subordinates attribute leader’s abusive supervision to three motives: injury initiation, leader-centric performance promotion and follower-centric performance promotion. We contend that the more the follower attributes their leader’s abusive behavior to injury initiation and leader-centric performance promotion motives, the more likely they are to engage in defensive voice. Contrarily, we posit that the more the follower attributes their leader’s abusive behavior to follower-centric performance promotion motive, the less likely they are to engage in defensive voice. Pilot Study employs a one-time, single-source design to test the psychometric properties of the focal measures and construct validity of the follower-centric and leader-centric performance promotion motives. Main Study employs a multi-source, time separated design to test mediation and moderated-mediation hypotheses via structural equation modeling. Further, the theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

An Analysis of the Structural Relationships Among Parental Attachment, Basic Psychological Needs, Career Identity and Depression of Chinese College Students in Korea

PurposeResearch in the acculturation domain has noted the influence of parental attachment on depression among overseas students. However, an almost negligible effort has been made to investigate how it happens. This study aims to explore the relationship between parental attachment, basic psychological needs, career identity and depression of Chinese overseas students, while focusing on the mechanisms underlying such relationship.MethodsA total of 335 Chinese overseas students were asked to fill out a questionnaire, and the data of these samples were utilized to test the moderated mediation hypotheses through SPSS and AMOS.ResultsThe results indicate that parental attachment of Chinese overseas students has a negative effect on depression, while basic psychological needs play a part in mediating between parental attachment and depression. In addition, career identity moderates the mediating effect of basic psychological needs between parental attachment and depression.ConclusionTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study has been one of the first attempts to reveal the influence mechanism of basic psychological needs and career identity on the relationship between parental attachment and depression of Chinese overseas students. It is expected that the preliminary findings of this study will encourage more research on the psychological mechanisms of Chinese overseas students, so as to provide a more comprehensive picture of the interaction between parental attachment and depression of overseas students studying in different countries with various backgrounds.

Financial literacy and quality of life: a moderated mediation approach of fintech adoption and leisure

PurposeThis study explores the relationship between financial literacy and quality of life (QoL). The study further examines the mediating effect of fintech adoption and the moderating effect of leisure on the relationship between financial literacy and QoL.Design/methodology/approachUsing convenience sampling, 345 respondents participated in a cross-sectional survey. To test the moderated mediation hypotheses, the PROCESS macro was used.FindingsThe results reveal the mediating effect of fintech adoption on the relationship between financial literacy and QoL, highlighting the importance of digital literacy in an increasingly digitalized society. Moreover, leisure moderates the mediating relationship. Individuals with high leisure are more likely to perceive the uncertainties and risks associated with new technology optimistically – an observation supported by existing literature on the relationships among leisure, perceived freedom, and internal locus of control.Practical implicationsFinancial literacy must incorporate digital literacy in order to utilize innovative technology for more efficient financial management. Additionally, having a sense of control over life outcomes can lead to well-being.Originality/valuePrevious research on fintech adoption is mostly related to financial inclusion for the unbanked population in underprivileged rural areas. Here, fintech usage by the general public is the focus. The study also reveals the significance of leisure, as those who have high financial literacy are more likely to adopt fintech when they have more freedom in their lives, which leads to higher QoL.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2021-0633.

Teleworking in times of COVID-19: the role of Family-Supportive supervisor behaviors in workers’ work-family management, exhaustion, and work engagement

Based on the Conservation of Resources theory, this research investigates the association between work-family relationships and employees’ well-being in teleworking situations, and explores the role of Family-Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (FSSB) as an important resource to help employees balance the exchange between work and life domains and improve well-being while teleworking. The current study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when most organizations opted for telework and employees found themselves involuntarily working from home. We examined the intensity of remote work as a boundary condition to determine when FSSB can be a resource for employees in telework. Our research combines two studies: a cross-sectional study with 318 workers from a bank that implemented telework over seven months; and a two-wave study with 290 participants from another bank – time 1 was prior to lockdown and time 2 was ten months later. Moderated mediation hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and the PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results from both studies show that FSSB is related to positive outcomes for work-family relationship and also for well-being. However, many of these associations are conditional upon the levels of intensity of telework. Implications for HRM theory and practice are discussed.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on job satisfaction: A mediated moderation model using job stress and organizational resilience in the hotel industry of Taiwan

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected businesses worldwide, including the hotel industry in Taiwan. This study aims to explore the influence of the perceived threat of COVID-19 on job satisfaction. SPSS software was used for data analysis, and the PROCESS macro was used to test the mediation, moderation, and moderated mediation hypotheses. An online survey (n = 681) was conducted on hotels in Taiwan in 2021, and the results indicate that job stress activation has a mediating effect on employees’ job satisfaction and the hotels’ business performances. Moreover, organizational resilience has a moderating effect on job stress. This study contributes theoretically to a better understanding of the factors that determine the impact of traumatic events such as a pandemic on people's mental health. This study suggests that interventions may be carried out to minimize the pandemic's negative psychological consequences. The implications of this study are also applicable to hoteliers in other affected countries.

Who is likely to hide knowledge after peer ostracism? An exchange-based perspective of contact quality and need to belong

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to uncover how peer ostracism (POS) elicits knowledge hiding directed towards ostracizing peers through the intervening role of peer contact quality (PCQ). Moreover, the authors aim to highlight the role of the need to belong (NTB) as a first-order boundary condition in direct and indirect hypothesized paths.Design/methodology/approachThe research opted for a three-wave time-lagged survey design. The data were obtained from the 234 teaching and non-teaching employees working in Higher Educational Sector in Pakistan through random sampling. Mediation and moderated mediation analysis was done by using PROCESS Models 4 and 7.FindingsThe results embraced the mediation, moderation and moderated mediation hypotheses. It was noted that POS creates negative exchange relationships. As a result, the ostracized employees withhold knowledge from the predating peer. NTB served as a buffering agent between POS and PCQ, as well as, in the indirect POS, PCQ and peer-directed knowledge hiding relationship.Practical implicationsThis research serves as a guideline for management and faculty of Higher Educational Institutions for minimization of POS to promote effective collegial contact quality and curb knowledge hiding.Originality/valueAlthough the research in workplace ostracism and knowledge hiding is not new, yet how this association emerges from the viewpoint of peers is not known. This study has added to the literature by answering who is more likely to reciprocate ostracism from peers by having poor quality contact and directing knowledge hiding towards the predator. By this, the authors have added to the limited stream of moderated mediation mechanisms underlying ostracism and knowledge hiding behaviour. In addition, the authors have drawn attention to the importance of peer relationships in higher educational settings.

Servant Leadership and Machiavellian Followers: A Moderated Mediation Model

Despite promoting positive employee outcomes, servant leaders may become the victim of manipulation by followers. The current study investigates this underexplored side of servant leadership by examining the employee-related outcomes of the interaction between servant leadership and follower Machiavellianism through mediating mechanism of exploitative manipulative behavior. It is argued that employees high in Machiavellianism engage in exploitative manipulative behavior to achieve subjective career success and social power while working with a servant leader. We used PROCESS macro to analyze our mediation and moderated mediation hypotheses, respectively. We collected data in a time-lagged design (three-time lags) from 320 dyads (self and peer) responses from service sector organizations. The results fully supported our hypotheses. Limitations and future research directions are also presented.

When and why does political trust predict well-being in authoritarian contexts? Examining the role of political efficacy and collective action among opposition voters.

Previous research indicates that trust in the political system increases well-being. Drawing from prior collective action research, we posit that a) the relationship between political trust and well-being would be mediated by collective action participation (mediation hypothesis) and b) political efficacy would moderate the indirect effect of political trust on well-being through collective action participation (moderated mediation hypothesis). In two studies (N=704), we tested these relationships among opposition voters in Turkey before two highly contested elections. The findings of Study 1showed a significant indirect effect of political trust on well-being through collective action participation and supported our mediation hypothesis. However, unlike democratic contexts, the relationship between collective action and well-being was negative. In addition, we did not find support for our moderated mediation hypothesis. In Study 2, we used more nuanced measures of political efficacy (voting efficacy and online/offline protest efficacy) and collective action (both offline and online collective action). In addition to replicating the findings of Study 1 with respect to the mediatory role of collective action participation (but only for online collective action participation), Study 2 again did not support our moderated mediation hypotheses with respect to the four moderators. Results highlight the importance of online and offline collective action among ideologically marginalized people with low trust in the political system in maintaining well-being.

How Challenge and Hindrance Appraisal Jointly Affect Employee Performance?

Challenge and hindrance appraisals are two interrelated dimensions of demanding situations. However, it is much unknown whether and how the two dimensions jointly predict employee performance. Integrating need satisfaction theory and goal orientation theory, the current study seeks to explore the optimal and suboptimal motivational processes by which the interaction between challenge and hindrance appraisal affects employee task performance and the moderation of individual goal orientations. In a diary study among 96 employees over 10 executive workdays (N Occasion = 960, N Employee = 96), we tested the three-way mediation and moderated mediation hypotheses. The results show that challenge appraisal, hindrance appraisal, and performance-approach goal orientation jointly predict employee perceived job meaningfulness and the resulting task performance, while challenge appraisal, hindrance appraisal, and learning goal orientation jointly predict employee challenge crafting and the resulting task performance. The research findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of demanding situations and how these situations affect employee performance.

How proactive personality affects psychological strain and job performance: The moderating role of leader–member exchange

This paper investigates when proactive personality exerts a positive or negative effect on psychological strain, which, in turn, is conducive or destructive to job performance. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we examine leader-member exchange (LMX, the quality of emotional support, trust and exchange of valuable resources between the leader and follower) as a crucial moderator, such that proactive personality is negatively related to psychological strain under high LMX, but is positively related to psychological strain under low LMX. Moreover, we hypothesize a moderated mediation effect such that the indirect effect of proactive personality on job performance through psychological strain is positive when LMX is high but negative when LMX is low. Results based on a two-wave, multi-source survey study with a sample of 266 employees and their direct supervisors in a sales company in China lent support to our moderation and moderated mediation hypotheses.

The relationship between abusive supervision and employee's reaction: the job demands-resources model perspective

PurposeBased on the job demands-resources model, the present study proposes viewing abusive supervision as one type of job demand causing employees' emotional exhaustion, which results in psychological withdrawal behavior. In addition, job crafting can be viewed as a means to acquire job resources, and it buffers the influence of abusive supervision on employees' emotional exhaustion. Moreover, the present study also proposes the moderating effect of job crafting on abusive supervision and psychological withdrawal behavior will be mediated by emotional exhaustion.Design/methodology/approachConsidering the issue of common method variance, data were not only collected in a multi-temporal research design but also tested by Harman's one-factor test. In addition, a series of confirmatory factor analyses was conducted to ensure the discriminant validity of measures. The moderated mediation hypotheses were tested on a sample of 267 participants.FindingsThe process model analysis showed that emotional exhaustion partially mediates the relationship between abusive supervision and psychological withdrawal behavior. Moreover, job crafting buffers the detrimental effect of abusive supervision on emotional exhaustion, and the less exhausted employees exhibit less psychological withdrawal behavior than those exhausted.Originality/valueThis study proposed a moderated mediation model to examine how and when abusive supervision leads to more employees' psychological withdrawal behaviors, and found that emotional exhaustion is one potential mechanism and job crafting is one potential moderator. Specifically, it was revealed that employees view abusive supervision as a kind of social and organizational aspect of job demands which will exacerbate emotional exhaustion, and, in turn, lead to more psychological withdrawal behavior. However, when employees view themselves as job crafter, they can adopt various job crafting behaviors to decrease the emotional exhaustion, and thus less psychological withdrawal behavior.

The Roles of Patients' Authenticity and Accepting External Influence, and Clinicians' Treatment Styles in Predicting Patients' Dental Anxiety and Avoidance of Dental Appointments.

A substantial proportion of adults suffer from high dental anxiety, which is related to poor oral health and functioning. Using authenticity theory and self-determination theory, we applied a model testing two moderated mediation hypotheses: (i) the negative indirect association between authenticity and avoiding dental appointments through dental anxiety would be more evident when clinicians provides higher levels of autonomy support; and (ii) the indirect positive association between accepting external influence and avoiding dental appointments through dental anxiety would be more evident when clinicians provides higher levels of controllingness. Participants (N = 208) responded to a survey with validated questionnaires. The model with hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in LISREL and Conditional Process Modeling (moderated mediation). The results supported our hypotheses. The SEM model tested was found to fit the data well. Patient’s personality and dental clinic treatment environments predicted 38% of the variance in dental anxiety, which explained 38% of avoidance of treatment.

Impostor Feelings and Psychological Distress Among Asian Americans: Interpersonal Shame and Self-Compassion

We examined how the association between impostor feelings and psychological distress was mediated by interpersonal shame and moderated by self-compassion in a sample of 433 Asian American students at an East Coast public university. First, we found that the positive association between impostor feelings and psychological distress was partially mediated by interpersonal shame (i.e., shame related to others viewing them negatively or dishonoring their family due to their deficits). Second, self-compassion significantly moderated the positive association between impostor feelings and interpersonal shame. Specifically, this positive association was stronger for those with lower self-compassion than for those with higher self-compassion. Third, the index of moderated mediation further supported that self-compassion moderated the mediation through an indirect effect of impostor feelings on psychological distress through interpersonal shame. We found additional results which supported the moderation and moderated mediation hypotheses for the three specific components of self-compassion (i.e., common humanity, self-judgment, and over-identification).

Promoting environmental performance through green human resource management practices in higher education institutions: A moderated mediation model

AbstractUsing two theoretical lenses—organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE) and supplies‐values fit theory (SVFT)—the present study examines the influence of green human resource management (HRM) practices on environmental performance using data from higher education institutions. To this end, our research uses survey data from n = 214 employees to test the moderated mediation hypotheses. The study finds that green HRM practices positively enhance environmental performance via employees' environmental passion. Our study further reveals that the effect of green HRM practices on environmental passion is more important when an employee is high on green values than when s/he is low. The current study provides new theoretical insights into environmental management literature by linking green HRM practices to environmental performance. Our findings provide managers with guidance regarding how and when green HRM practices are more likely to lead to enhanced environmental performance.