Ragini, Piyali Ghosh and Senthil Kumar Shanmugam
This study has applied the model by Baldwin and Ford (1988) to empirically examine the influence of select trainee characteristics (i.e. instrumentality and motivation to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study has applied the model by Baldwin and Ford (1988) to empirically examine the influence of select trainee characteristics (i.e. instrumentality and motivation to transfer) and transfer design as a training design factor on the transfer of training to work. It also investigates the possible mediating role of the motivation to transfer and the moderating role of social support at work (comprising supervisor and peer support) in the transfer mechanism.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-reported questionnaire was used to survey employees working in a power major in India. In the first stage, we selected one geographical region of the organization using judgmental sampling. In the next stage, executives and non-executives from all five coal-based power stations in that region were selected using systematic sampling. Responses from 411 such employees were analyzed using PROCESS Macro in SPSS. A mediation analysis was done using Model 4, while the moderated mediation hypotheses were tested using Model 7 in PROCESS Macro.
Findings
Instrumentality and transfer design were found to impact training transfer through motivation to transfer. While supervisor support moderated the mediational impact of both predictors through transfer motivation, peer support moderated only the impact of instrumentality on transfer through transfer motivation.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical work that has integrated important predictors at trainee, training design, and work environment levels based on the perspective of factors an organization can control. Besides, establishing supervisor and peer support as contextual factors adds to the celebrated model by Baldwin and Ford.
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Ragini N. Mohanty and Richa Shah
The subject area is entrepreneurship.
Abstract
Subject area
The subject area is entrepreneurship.
Study level/applicability
Graduate and executive education level in leadership, entrepreneurship and strategic management are used to discuss leadership, entrepreneurship and strategy in health services.
Case overview
This case talks about the passionate journey of a pediatrician practicing in the Mumbai city of India, who as an individual private practitioner is contributing to the fulfilment of the global health agenda and the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) – “reduce child mortality”. His vision is to make quality and affordable expert pediatric care accessible to all the individuals, right from pre-birth to adulthood. Surya Mother and Child Care Hospital (SMCH) is being strengthened as a nation-wide network of mother and child hospital offering patient/consumer-centric integrated collaborative quality care, and it needs to be seen how this model can be made sustainable as it enlarges in scale for the future.
Expected learning outcomes
The case is structured to achieve the following learning outcomes: to understand about effectuation as a logic for entrepreneurial success through the lens of Dr Avasthi and his venture SMCH; To understand and apply Porter’s Principles of value transformation that essentially focus on outcome-driven cost-efficient work practices in a collaborative integrative fashion, where transformation must come from within (some practices suggested can be applied to the Indian Healthcare Services Delivery systems); to critically analyze the overall strategic position of SMCH as an organization and its competitive environment; to discuss the factors influencing health-care delivery capacity build up, given the MDGs 2015, Every Newborn Action Plan and Indian Newborn Action Plan framework, as applicable to India; and to discuss and analyze mechanisms for future sustainable service delivery options for SMCH. Although each of these principles is important, possibly, the instructor could emphasize and encourage more discussions on potential models of shared partnerships that can help quality health-care services reach the unreached and the incorporation of technology in achieving this. The learning process can also facilitate discussions about leadership qualities in the creation of health-care entrepreneurs, for the “Change That They Would Want To See”.
Supplementary materials
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Subject code
CSS:3 Entrepreneurship.
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Ragini Bhati and Harsh V. Verma
The purpose of this paper is to find out the antecedents of customer brand advocacy (CBA) on the basis of synthesis of the CBA literature. A summarisation of the results of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to find out the antecedents of customer brand advocacy (CBA) on the basis of synthesis of the CBA literature. A summarisation of the results of the empirical CBA studies containing CBA as a measured variable is carried out. The antecedents’ strengths of association with CBA are compared.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature is synthesised using the technique of meta-analysis (Hedges and Olkin, 1985). A total of 63 empirical research papers containing 66 data sets, published between 1988 and 2019, are analysed. For each antecedent – CBA relationship, the statistics calculated include point estimate of the reliability adjusted correlation coefficient (ρ), 95% confidence interval of the computed effect size, Cochran’s Q statistic and fail safe-N. The effect of study context as a possible moderator is assessed.
Findings
The major antecedents of CBA, identified in the study, are categorised into personal factor (opinion leadership), relational factors (brand trust, customer satisfaction, brand identification, customer-based brand equity, affective commitment and normative commitment) and social factor (normative influence). Significant heterogeneity was found across studies for the paired relationships, pointing towards the presence of theoretical and/or methodological moderators.
Originality/value
The nascent CBA literature reports mixed findings. This creates confusion. This synthesis study contributes to the present body of knowledge of the concept of CBA. It is the only study that uses the technique of meta-analysis to the CBA literature.
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Alka Rai, Piyali Ghosh, Ragini Chauhan and Navin Kumar Mehta
Indian banking industry is one the biggest players in the country’s service sector, with public sector banks (PSBs) occupying the major share. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Indian banking industry is one the biggest players in the country’s service sector, with public sector banks (PSBs) occupying the major share. The purpose of this paper is to develop a model linking job characteristics (JC) and work engagement, moderated by perceived organizational and supervisor support as contextual variables.
Design/methodology/approach
Data on 214 employees from 15 PSBs were used to examine this model. Analysis of data has established the moderating role of support at work in the relationship between JC and work engagement.
Findings
Findings suggest that employees who have a positive perception of organizational and supervisor support are more likely to respond positively to JC and therefore would have a higher propensity to engage with their jobs. In addition to enriched jobs, the wider organizational climate characterized by support from supervisors and organization as a whole is critical to establish a positive environment, which would lead to greater work engagement.
Originality/value
The moderating role of support at workplace on JC and work engagement has been researched very rarely in literature. This study, hence, aims at investigating whether interaction between JC and perceived organizational and supervisor support influences work engagement of employees working in Indian PSBs.
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Vrinda Khattar and Upasna A. Agarwal
The purpose of this article is to understand how women develop entrepreneurship as a career identity through women's various life stages. Using a life story approach, the authors…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to understand how women develop entrepreneurship as a career identity through women's various life stages. Using a life story approach, the authors study the formation of Indian businesswomen's entrepreneurial identity in businesswomen's unique socio-cultural context.
Design/methodology/approach
The study drew upon 15 semi-structured interviews with practicing women entrepreneurs using a qualitative methodology. Gioia methodology was used to systematically analyze the data for theory building.
Findings
The narratives of the Indian women entrepreneurs indicate that Indian women's entrepreneurial identity was a developmental process influenced by various episodes in different life stages-childhood, adolescence, marriage and motherhood. Life episodes influenced the creation and enactment of this entrepreneurial identity, which led to the emergence of entrepreneurship as a career choice.
Research limitations/implications
The study's retrospective design may have raised concerns involving memory recall. The open-ended questions gave the participants the freedom to recount the life episodes that influenced the participants the most and may have partly mitigated this concern.
Originality/value
Prior studies have focused on specific life stages of women entrepreneurs, without taking a holistic life-story view, thereby missing out on how career identity is formed as a result of life episodes. Using the developmental psychology approach, the authors provide a nuanced and holistic lens to understanding women's entrepreneurship.
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Ragini and Piyali Ghosh
Purpose of this study is to investigate the role of learner readiness in enhancing transfer of training by empirically testing a moderated mediation mechanism in which learner…
Abstract
Purpose
Purpose of this study is to investigate the role of learner readiness in enhancing transfer of training by empirically testing a moderated mediation mechanism in which learner readiness influences transfer through motivation to transfer, and this indirect impact is moderated by supervisor support.
Design/methodology/approach
The perception of trainees about the constructs considered has been captured through a survey of 250 employees of a unit of a manufacturing organization in India. For hypotheses testing, PROCESS macro developed by Hayes (2013) has been used.
Findings
Results have confirmed the significant role played by learner readiness in predicting transfer. This apart, supervisor support has been proved to moderate the indirect impact of learner readiness on transfer.
Practical implications
Trainees need to have pre-requisite knowledge to learn the content of a training programme, which would enable them to grasp such content and transfer the same subsequently to work. It is also essential that trainees are willing to attend any training voluntarily. Specific interventions may be designed for supervisors to bolster their catalytic role in training transfer.
Originality/value
An interactionist approach has been adopted by focussing on learner readiness as a less-studied trainee characteristic and supervisor support as a situational factor of transfer. This is construed as a significant contribution of this study to training literature. The potential overlap between learner readiness and motivation to transfer as trainee characteristics is seen to be neutralized by the presence of supervisor support as a moderator. Findings help in understanding how a trainee’s readiness and motivation, together with supervisor’s positive attitude, can enhance transfer.
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Ragini Rina Datt, Le Luo and Qingliang Tang
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of legitimacy threats on corporate incentive to obtain external carbon assurance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of legitimacy threats on corporate incentive to obtain external carbon assurance.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consists of the largest US companies that disclosed carbon emissions to CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) over the period 2010-2013. Based on legitimacy theory, firms are more likely to obtain carbon assurance when they are under greater legitimacy threat. Carbon assurance is measured using CDP data. Three proxies are identified to measure legitimacy threat related to climate change: carbon emissions intensity, firm size and leverage.
Findings
This paper finds that firms with higher levels of emissions are more likely to obtain independent assurance, and large firms show the same tendency, as they are probably under pressure from their large group of stakeholders. In sum, the findings suggest that firms with higher carbon emissions face greater threats to their legitimacy, and the adoption of carbon assurance can mitigate risks to legitimacy with enhanced credibility of carbon disclosure in stakeholders’ decision-making.
Research limitations/implications
The study has some limitations. The authors have relied on CDP reports for analysis and focus on the largest companies in the US. Caution should be exercised when generalising the results to smaller firms, other countries or voluntary carbon assurance information disclosed in other communications channels.
Practical implications
This study provides extra insights into and an improved understanding of determinants and motivation of carbon assurance, which should be useful for policymakers to develop policies and initiatives for carbon assurance. The collective results should be useful for practicing accountants and accounting firms.
Originality/value
The paper investigates how legitimacy threats affect firms’ choice of external carbon assurance in the context of US, which has not been documented previously. It contributes to the understanding of legitimacy theory in the context of voluntary carbon assurance.
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Piyali Ghosh, Alka Rai, Ragini Chauhan, Gargi Baranwal and Divya Srivastava
The purpose of this study is to examine the potential mediating role of employee engagement between rewards and recognition and normative commitment.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the potential mediating role of employee engagement between rewards and recognition and normative commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
Responses of a sample of 176 private bank employees in India were used to examine the proposed mediated model.
Findings
The variable rewards and recognition is found to be significantly correlated to both employee engagement and normative commitment. Results of regression have been analyzed in line with the four conditions of mediation laid down by Baron and Kenny (1986). Further, SPSS macro developed by Preacher and Hayes (2004) is used to test the proposed mediation model. The relationship between rewards and recognition and normative commitment is found to become smaller after controlling the variable employee engagement. The results provide partial support to the mediation hypothesis.
Originality/value
Normative commitment has been less researched relative to the attention paid to affective commitment. Further, no research has yet focused on the impact of rewards and recognition on normative commitment, with the mediating impact of employee engagement. This study hence provides the first empirical test of the established relationship between rewards and recognition and employee engagement by introducing normative commitment as an outcome variable.
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Ragini Chauhan, Piyali Ghosh, Alka Rai and Sanchita Kapoor
In response to a perceived need for research investigating the relatively less-explored role of supervisor support as a moderator in the transfer mechanism, this paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
In response to a perceived need for research investigating the relatively less-explored role of supervisor support as a moderator in the transfer mechanism, this paper aims to empirically examine the influence of transfer design on transfer of training and also the moderating role of supervisor support between these constructs.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted using a self-reported questionnaire administered on employees of a manufacturing unit engaged in power transmission and located at the city of Allahabad in India. The sample size of the study is 149. The role of supervisor support as a moderator was tested using hierarchical regression analysis.
Findings
Findings of the study direct organizations to consider both transfer design and supervisor support to get the maximum output from training. The moderating role of supervisor support is confirmed in the study.
Practical implications
If a trainer is not able to provide much practice to the trainee during training programme, then a supportive supervisor can counter such poor transfer design. A well-designed training programme should be coupled with supervisor support to ensure effective transfer of training. Influence of transfer design on transfer of training is likely to be more if the supervisor is supportive.
Originality/value
The authors have hypothesized and established the direct influence of transfer design on training transfer. Further, supervisor support has been found to moderate the relationship between transfer design and transfer of training.
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Alka Rai, Piyali Ghosh, Ragini Chauhan and Richa Singh
This study aims to explore the possibility that rewards and recognition may be instrumental in improving both in-role and extra-role performances of retail sales associates, with…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the possibility that rewards and recognition may be instrumental in improving both in-role and extra-role performances of retail sales associates, with an underlying mediating role of employee engagement in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted across 35 retail stores in five cities located in North India on 247 sales associates. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the mediation hypotheses. Analysis was done in lines with the conditions of mediation laid down by Baron and Kenny (1986).
Findings
Employee engagement is found to fully mediate the impact of rewards and recognition on in-role and extra-role performances.
Practical implications
Organizations should be committed to recognizing employees’ efforts and providing them with financial and non-financial rewards based on organizational policies. Such measures would improve in-role and extra-role performances through enhancing engagement level of employees.
Originality/value
This study makes significant contributions to literature on employee engagement and that on retail sector, especially in Indian context, through highlighting the mediating role of engagement. Given shortage and retention of skilled manpower as major challenges for Indian retailers, engaging sales associates through rewards and recognition to improve their performance at both in-role and extra-role levels can have significant implications for retailers.