Organizational Behavior Literature Research Articles

Inclusive Leadership Fosters Challenge-Oriented Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Mediating role of Inclusive Climate

Employee’s challenge-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (COCB) has gained high potential in the recent era of innovations and amplified competition. Accordingly, to grow and lead the market, firms prefer employees who exhibit creative behavior in workplace. Based on optimal distinctiveness theory (ODT) this study aims to investigate how inclusive leadership (IL) stimulates employee’s challenge-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (COCB) and to determine the mediating role of inclusive climate (IC). To assess the study hypotheses, data were collected from 398 employees working in small size IT firms operating in Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey-type questionnaire was designed and distributed among employees in their natural workplace. Initially using Amos-23, CFA his established the prominence of variables used in this particular study. AMOS-SEM results revealed that IL stimulates COCB in work unit, and IC partially mediates the association between IL and employee’s COCB. This study significantly contributes to both leadership and challenge-oriented organizational citizenship behavior literature, as in the past studies little attention was given to the impact of inclusive leadership to envisage employee’s COCB directly and via mediation of inclusive climate. Moreover, theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed in detail.

Unconscious bias among seafarers

This systematic literature review explores the concept of unconscious bias within the maritime industry, focusing specifically on seafarers. Unconscious bias refers to implicit stereotypes and attitudes that influence decision-making processes without conscious awareness. In the context of seafaring, where diverse crews operate in confined spaces for extended periods, understanding and addressing unconscious bias becomes crucial for fostering inclusive and harmonious shipboard environments and mitigating gender bias. The review begins by examining theoretical frameworks related to unconscious bias, drawing from psychological, organizational behavior, and maritime literature. Various models, such as the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and social cognitive theories, are explored to provide a foundation for understanding how biases develop and manifest among seafaring populations. The maritime industry's unique characteristics, including hierarchical structures, cultural diversity, and isolation during voyages, are analyzed to identify specific factors that may contribute to the emergence of unconscious biases. Additionally, the review delves into studies addressing the impact of biases on decision-making, communication, and overall team dynamics within the maritime context. Furthermore, the review explores interventions and best practices proposed in the literature to mitigate unconscious bias among seafarers. Training programs, diversity initiatives, and cultural awareness campaigns are examined for their effectiveness in promoting a more inclusive and equitable maritime workplace. Based on this review, we conceptualize unconscious gender bias as a socio-technical problem and propose a theoretical framework that offers a combination of technological, organizational, and societal approaches as well as three main propositions to possibly mitigate the biased effects. Lastly, this paper considers future research on the management of unconscious gender bias in the organizational context.

How Passion for Work Shapes Work-Family Interactions: A Conceptual Framework Exploring the Roles of Psychological Capital and Self-Regulation Failure

The belief that a life of passion is a life well-lived serves as a perpetual motivator to pursue work aligned with one’s passion. Both work and family are essential life domains in many people’s lives, and they often interconnect, impacting each other. In the workplace, passion is a highly desired but under-researched employee characteristic, offering benefits like positive emotions and improved performance but also carrying risks, such as inflexibility. Drawing on job demands-resources theory and conservation of resources theory, our inquiry offers an integrative conceptual framework that combines insights from positive psychology, organizational behavior, and human resource development (HRD) literature. This framework enhances our understanding of how work passion connects to the work-family interface, considering the roles of psychological capital and self-regulation failure in interactions beyond work. Our study includes implications for HRD practitioners motivated to promote change initiatives and an agenda for future research for HRD scholars.

The trends in contemporary authoritarian leadership studies: A bibliometric data analysis

The study of authoritarian leadership has undergone significant development, with researchers exploring its different dimensions and consequences. This leadership style, characterized by a top-down approach and centralized decision-making authority, has been extensively examined in psychology, organizational behavior, and management literature. Scholars have delved into the effects of authoritarian leadership on various aspects of organizations such as employee satisfaction, motivation levels, productivity rates, turnover rates, and team dynamics. The research landscape surrounding authoritarian leadership has witnessed a recent surge in interest as scholars strive to understand its intricate connections with different variables. The primary objective of this study is to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis on authoritarian leadership, aiming to identify the key research areas, influential authors, prominent journals in the field, and citation patterns. To our knowledge, no bibliometric analysis on authoritarian leadership can be found in the Scopus database, highlighting the novelty of our research. Through a source-based examination of scholarly articles and their citations pertaining to authoritarian leadership, this analysis offers valuable insights into the current state of research in this domain. By focusing on publications from the past decade onwards, we aim to uncover trends and potential gaps within existing literature while also providing guidance for future research endeavors. Our research findings will provide valuable insights into the phenomenon of authoritarian leadership, contributing to a deeper understanding of its implications. By delving into this topic, we hope to pave the way for future studies and investigations in this field that can build upon our findings and expand knowledge even further.

An inconvenient truth about “bundling” commitment, engagement, and embeddedness: Unbundling to extend theory on turnover motivations and beyond

This paper critiques a research practice that we call “bundling,” which has produced highly popular constructs in the organizational behavior literature, including organizational commitment, employee engagement, and organizational embeddedness. We show how these bundled constructs, using broad labels from common parlance, have produced overlapping meanings, confounded theoretical mechanisms, and imposed limiting “ideal employee” conceptions in the literature, organizations, and ultimately, societal discourse about employees. We argue that “unbundling” these constructs can provide multiple benefits to theory, empirical inquiry, and practical assessment of complex employee motives. As a demonstration, we unbundle the three focal constructs to integrate and clarify their component relations within the nomological net of turnover motivation. Thereby, we enrich conceptions of proximal withdrawal states, while synthesizing the most comprehensive model of turnover motivations. Finally, we discuss further research implications suggested by unbundling our focal constructs, and unbundling more generally.

Can HERO help in employee engagement? A systematic review and meta-analysis

PurposeIn the organizational behaviour literature, psychological capital (psycap) has been identified as a significant variable affecting the engagement level of employees. Relying on this, this study aims to examine the association between psycap sub-constructs and employee engagement (EE) using systematic review and meta-analysis techniques.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyzed 28 primary studies (selected through a systematic review of literature by incorporating inclusion and exclusion criteria) via meta-analysis techniques conducted using Meta-Essential Software (1.5). Along with this, the Cohen Kappa reliability test and the trim and fill technique have been applied, followed by moderator analysis.FindingsThe results of the study contribute to the extant literature in three ways. Firstly, the study confirms the positive association between psycap sub-constructs and EE. Secondly, it looks into the individual constructs of psycap and shows that hope is the primary component that influences EE, followed by optimism, efficacy and resilience. Thirdly, the country acts as a moderator between psycap and EE.Research limitations/implicationsThe study’s result highlights numerous implications, suggesting that organizations should focus on bringing out the latent “HERO” (hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism) qualities of their employees to make the workplace more engaging. Lastly, the study concludes by pointing out the limitations and highlighting future directions.Originality/valueBeing the first systematic review and meta-analytical study focusing on psycap sub-constructs and EE associations, this study contributes to the engagement literature.

A neurocognitive framework of attention and creativity: Maximizing usefulness and novelty via directed and undirected pathways

SummaryComing up with creative ideas is not easy. In this conceptual article, we integrate organizational behavior, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience literatures to propose that different forms of attention may be a key to maximizing creative usefulness and novelty. Specifically, we develop a neurocognitive framework of attentional control to propose differential pathways from creative goal‐directed attention (a narrow and selective focus) to deliberate information processing, and from undirected attention (a wide and unconstrained focus) to spontaneous information processing. These propositions have implications for creative usefulness and novelty, respectively—namely, that creative goal‐directed attention should facilitate the usefulness of creative outputs to a greater extent than their novelty, whereas undirected attention should promote the novelty of creative outputs to a greater extent than their usefulness. Our framework further suggests that time spent experiencing creative goal‐directed attention followed by undirected attention is the optimal sequence for maximizing both the usefulness and novelty of creative outputs. In combination, our framework advances theoretical understanding of attentional pathways to creative outcomes and offers practical implications for maximizing creative potential at work.

Counting on strengths: harnessing character strengths to stimulate innovative work behaviour

Purpose Proposing a strengths-based perspective for innovative work behaviour (IWB), the purpose of this paper is to explore character strengths (CS) as antecedents to IWB. Extending the literature and operating in the framework of positive organisational behaviour, this paper considers creative self-efficacy a crucial link between CS and IWB. The role of growth mindset and learning organisation in facilitating IWB, presented as a conceptual model, contributes to the theory in this field, aiding in developing an overarching theory to understand IWB. Design/methodology/approach A narrative literature review was performed on the CS, IWB and positive organisational behaviour literature to adapt theories and develop propositions for the conceptual model. Findings This paper develops a conceptual framework proposing direct relationships between CS and IWB. This study posits creative self-efficacy (CSE) as the mediator between this relationship and growth mindset, learning organisation as the moderators for the link between CS and CSE and CSE and IWB. Research limitations/implications The paper presents a conceptual framework focusing on the positive personality traits of employees, precisely their CS. This study explores how leveraging these strengths can enhance their capacity for IWB. The suggested model also prompts additional research in understanding IWB. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the conceptual framework proposed is the first to explore the diverse individual differences factors and the role of contextual facilitation in enhancing employees’ IWB. This study contributes to the growing field of positive organisational behaviour and assists HR managers in tapping into employees’ internal resources. This paper’s theoretical and practical discourse can inspire future research and encourage a strengths-based view of workplace processes.

The effect of social network structure on group anchoring bias

Decisions—whether made by individuals or groups—often involve estimating quantities, a process that is subject to anchoring bias (Tversky and Kahneman in Science 185: 1124–1131, 1974). Differences in susceptibility to anchoring bias between individuals and groups have been recently explored with the result that groups appear less biased than individuals (Meub and Proeger in Theor Decis 85:117–150, 2018). However, existing studies treat groups monolithically without taking into account their network structure—the pattern of relationships among members. The present paper investigates the effects of group social network structure on anchoring bias. Using a structured survey instrument, we gathered data on competence-based trust relationships among 264 students enrolled in a university degree program. An anchoring experiment was conducted in which some of the students made estimates as individuals, while others did so in groups of different structures. The findings provide initial evidence of differences in bias levels across variously structured groups as well as relative to individuals. Groups with highly centralized trust networks (where a single person owned everyone’s trust) showed more anchoring bias than dense groups (where everyone trusted everyone else) and sparse groups (where no one trusted any other member of the group) showed more bias than dense groups. In addition, despite previous research demonstrating groups are less susceptible than individuals to anchoring bias, this study shows a higher presence of bias in both our centralized groups and sparse groups when compared to individuals, suggesting that group structure might moderate the mitigating effect of groups on anchoring bias. The research has implications for organizational behavior and social network literature. Specifically, this study contributes to the debate on anchoring bias for group decisions by highlighting the significant role of social network structure. At the same time, it contributes to the literature on network structure and performance by providing initial evidence of how network structure affects anchoring bias susceptibility. Moreover, our study contributes to management practice by alerting managers to the dangers of centralized networks, suggesting that competence-based trust plays a vital role in the resistance to anchoring bias.

Organizational politics and employee job performance in the tourism and hospitality industry: workplace stress and counterproductive work behavior

Purpose This study aims to explore how job performance (EJP) is affected by employees’ perception of organizational politics (POP). It also investigates the mediating roles of workplace stress (WS) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered from employees working in category (A) travel agencies and five-star hotels in Egypt. A partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis was conducted using 468 valid responses. Findings The findings indicate that there is a negative correlation between POP and EJP. Additionally, there is a positive correlation between POP and CWB as well as WS. The results also demonstrate a negative correlation between WS and CWB with EJP. Moreover, the findings suggest that CWB and WS act as partial mediators in the relationship between POP and EJP. Originality/value The research included some ground-breaking investigations. Currently, research on the effects of POP on CWB, WS and EJP is insufficient. As well, the current study attempts to measure the mediating role of CWB and WS in the link between POP and EJP. The current study has filled a gap in the tourism and hospitality literature, human resources management literature and organizational behavior literature by empirically analyzing these links in the context of Egyptian hotels and travel agencies.

How do leaders’ political influence tactics affect dissent, cynicism and negligence? A research into medical representatives in Turkey

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the influence of leaders' deployment of Political Influence Tactics (PIT) on the manifestation of articulated/upward dissent and negligent behavior among employees, with a specific focus on the mediating role of employee cynicism (EC). The study was theoretically grounded in both Psychological Contract Theory and Independent-Mindedness Theory. Data for this investigation were collected through surveys from a sample of 308 medical representatives in Turkey. The collected data underwent rigorous analysis employing the Partial Least Squares Based Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method with the assistance of the SMART PLS 3.3.3 software. The findings of this study revealed that EC serves as a partial mediator in the relationship between pressure and ingratiation tactics and employee negligence. Notably, existing research within the realm of organizational politics often centers on Perceptions of Organizational Politics (POP), which encapsulates the subjective aspect of perceiving politics within an organization. In contrast, there has been relatively limited exploration into PIT, which adopts an objective standpoint. Furthermore, this study represents a pioneering effort as it identified a gap in the existing literature where no prior research has directly assessed the linkages between PIT and other key variables within the proposed model, namely cynicism, negligence, and articulated/upward dissent. Consequently, this study is poised to contribute significantly to the organizational politics and organizational behavior literature by addressing this notable gap.

NARCISSISM IN BUSINESS SCIENCE: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS WITH VOSVIEWER SOFTWARE

Narcissism appears as a concept of great importance in many disciplines. In the organizational behavior literature, narcissism is a multifaceted study subject that is addressed in interpersonal relations, organizational outcomes and an organizational identity. This study aims to analyze the studies on narcissism in organizations and to reveal the course of studies on narcissism in organizations. In this context, the words "narcissist" and "narcissism" were searched as "All Fields" in the Web of Science database. In the Web of Science Categories, search is limited to "Management" and "Business". 693 studies are analyzed with VOSviewer and the results are discussed. While the intensive use of keywords such as leadership, dark triad and personality draws attention in the analysis results, another striking point is the intense increase in the course of narcissism studies in recent years and the fact that the subject is discussed in different contexts.

Influence of Health Promoting Leadership and Leader Humor on Employee Innovation Performance: The Role Positive Emotions

Understanding how leadership styles conducive to employee innovation performance is one of the main focuses in organizational behavior literature. In this paper, we use broaden-and-build theory to examine how health promotes leadership and leader humor affect employee innovation performance, focusing on positive emotion mediation. By using a survey data consisting of 410 full-time employees from several large state-owned companies in China, the results indicate that both health promoting leadership and leader humor significantly relate to positive emotions among employees, which in turn, enhances their innovation performance. This article makes contributions to the literature by emphasizing the role of leadership styles in creating an environment that encourages creativity and innovation by the mechanism of positive emotions.

Research on the Impact of Mental Health on Employee Resignation and Strategies for Enhancing Workplace Well-Being

Psychological health issues not only affect individuals worldwide but also have an impact on many organizations. Research evidence indicates a close connection between the rising employee resignation rates within organizations and the mental health status of employees. Taking an organizational perspective and drawing from relevant organizational behavior and psychology literature, this paper studied the influence of individual psychological health on resignation behavior to demonstrate how organizational strategies interact with mental health, affecting the dynamic relationship between individual employees and the organization as well as the outcomes of these dynamics. Subsequently, this paper provides recommendations for improving workplace well-being and reducing resignation rates. The organization should invest substantial efforts to consider employees mental health and establish a supportive working environment to reduce resignations directly and indirectly caused by psychological problems, therefore maintaining the sustainable operation of the organization, and articulating the research objectives. Ultimately, it emphasizes that organizations should investigate effective strategies that prioritize mental health and retain talent.

Person-Centered Modeling: Techniques for Studying Associations Between People Rather than Variables

The goal of person-centered methods is to identify subpopulations of individuals based on within-group similarity of data relative to between-group variability. In this article, we provide an overview of specific person-centered methods, thus shifting the attention from studying relations between variables to studying relations between people or entities of interest. Next, we present a selective and critical review of recent research utilizing person-centered modeling approaches, highlighting key trends in the organizational psychology and organizational behavior literature from both the methodological and the conceptual perspectives. Lastly, we conclude with reflections and recommendations, highlighting several areas that need careful consideration when conducting person-centered research.

Karanlık Üçlünün Örgütsel Sinizme Etkisinde Algılanan Aşırı Nitelikliliğin Aracı Rolü

It is observed in the organizational behaviour literature that negative organizational behavior variables are among the current issues that have emerged to occupy it. The dark triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), organizational cynicism, and perceived overqualification are some of these negative organizational behavior variables. The main purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of perceived overqualification in the effect of the dark triad on organizational cynicism. Quantitative research design is employed for this study, where data is gathered from 453 academics working in a public university in Turkey. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, correlation analysis and Hayes Process Model 4 are used to analyze the data. The results reveal that the variables are interrelated and perceived over-efficacy plays a mediating role in the effect of the dark triad on organizational cynicism. At the same time, it has been determined that the dark triad has a direct effect on perceived overqualification, perceived overqualification has a direct effect on organizational cynicism and the dark triad has a direct effect on organizational cynicism.

The Impact of Motivational Processes on Individual Performance

The paradox of motivation is explored. Emphasis is placed on a contingency framework evaluating which organizations are likely to benefit from motivational processes (i.e., intrinsic-extrinsic rewards) and which are more likely to pursue them. Drawing on the positive organizational behavior literature (social learning theory) and self-determination theory, we formulate a contingency that provides a platform for motivational processes: extrinsic motivation versus intrinsic motivation. In addition, we formulate three propositions that can be empirically tested. By focusing on individual productivity and performance coupled with individual motivation, we provide a model that can predict positive and negative effects of motivational processes. We suspect that motivational processes are paradoxically most used by organizations that are least prepared for motivational consequences (i.e., outside forces) to individual productivity and performance. We offer a new term for using the right amount of extrinsic-intrinsic rewards called the “Sweet Spot.”

Paradigm shift: students’ perceptions of work models and well-being

PurposeThis study aims to explore the benefits and drawbacks of different work models, including hybrid and remote models, as perceived by millennial and Gen Z students in Spain. Additionally, it seeks to identify ways to promote work engagement in the context of this paradigm shift.Design/methodology/approachThe study involved 44 undergraduate and graduate students who participated in two classroom discussions on the impact of hybrid and remote work models on well-being. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.FindingsThe results indicate that students' expectations have significantly shifted, and HR managers need to implement hybrid and remote work models to ensure a balance between long-term employee and organisational interests. Younger generations seek flexibility in work and education to achieve a better quality of life, rather than a 100% remote system.Originality/valueThe growing demand for hybrid and flexible working has the potential to create a paradigm shift in the way we work. This study contributes to the organisational behaviour literature by investigating the factors that organisations and policymakers should consider when implementing work models in response to the pandemic to promote well-being. The practical implications of this study can be useful for organisations and educators seeking to adapt to this changing work landscape.

The impact of SME leader’s psychological capital on strategic responses during crisis

This study investigates how the Psychological Capital (PsyCap) of small and medium enterprises (SME) leaders has influenced their strategic responses, ultimately impacting the performance of their companies, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Embedded within research on behavioral micro-foundations in strategy, and based on the resource-based theory (RBT) of the individual entrepreneur as well as positive organizational behavior literature, we hypothesize that SME leaders’ psychological resources can act as a strategic advantage during crises by making them adopt cost-cutting and investment measures for their companies performance. By using a sample of 372 SMEs, we find that while leaders mostly use both measures, leaders with a high PsyCap prefer adopting investment measures, which positively influences the performance of their companies during a crisis. However, adopting cost-cutting measures lowers performance. We contribute to the entrepreneurship literature by using PsyCap in the context of the RBT of the individual entrepreneur and shedding light on which measures sustain or increase SMEs’ performance during a crisis. JEL CLASSIFICATION: D91; L25; L26; M10

Entrepreneurial identity and entrepreneurial action: A within‐person field study

AbstractEntrepreneurial action theory establishes that effective entrepreneurship requires daily action. Yet, empirical research on the daily antecedents of entrepreneurial action is relatively absent from the literature. We develop an entrepreneurial identity intervention and a theoretical model which integrates entrepreneurial identity theory with integrative self‐control theory (ISCT). We theorize that an entrepreneurial identity intervention administered in the morning will increase entrepreneurial action throughout the day. Further, we develop and test hypotheses regarding two mediating pathways, a motivation‐based pathway that relies on the felt passion of the entrepreneur and a control capacity‐based pathway that is connected to the entrepreneur's cognitive flexibility. We conducted two studies to validate the effectiveness of our intervention (Studies 1a and 1b) and four studies to test the validity and effectiveness of our experimental materials and measures (Studies A1a, A1b, A1c, and 2a). Our main study investigates the daily antecedents and mechanisms of entrepreneurial action using a within‐individual field experiment with 201 entrepreneurs (1458 daily observations). Overall, we find more within‐person than between‐person variance in entrepreneurial identity, daily action, and hypothesized meditators. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings for the entrepreneurship and organizational behavior literatures.