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The purpose of this paper is to apply the concept of power imbalance to explain workplace and demographic characteristics associated with bullying by different perpetrators in the healthcare sector.

All 69,927 members of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victoria) were invited to participate in an online survey in 2014; 4,891 responses were received (7 per cent response rate). Participants were asked about their exposure to workplace bullying (WPB) by different perpetrators. The questionnaire addressed demographic characteristics and perceptions of workplace characteristics (workplace type, leading indicators of occupational health and safety (OHS), prioritisation of OHS, supervisor support for safety and bureaucracy). Analysis involved descriptive statistics and regression analyses.

The study found that the exposure of nurses and health workers to bullying is relatively high (with 42 per cent of respondents experiencing WPB in the past 12 months) and there are multiple perpetrators of bullying. The research revealed several demographic predictors associated with the different types of perpetrators. Downward and horizontal bullying were the most prevalent forms. Workplace characteristics were more important predictors of bullying by different perpetrators than were demographic characteristics.

There are limitations to the study due to a low response rate and the cross-sectional survey.

Practical implications of this study emphasise the importance of focussed human resource strategies to prevent bullying.

The key contribution of this research is to draw from theoretical explanations of power to inform understanding of the differences between perpetrators of bullying. The study highlights the workplace characteristics that influence bullying.

Abusive supervision climate (ASC) affects not only direct subordinates of abusive supervisors but also their colleagues who work in the same group. Therefore, this study aims to examine the underlying processes and boundary conditions of ASC's effects on group members' behaviors.

The study collected data from 213 employees in 51 workgroups across 13 organizations in Pakistan. Data were analyzed in MPlus version 8 (Muthén and Muthén, 1998–2017) using a random intercepts multilevel model. The authors followed the procedures for testing 2-1-1 mediation with a participant-level mediator as outlined in Pituch and Stapleton (2012).

The results revealed that anger mediated the negative relationship between ASC and group members' organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), as well as the positive relationship between ASC and group members' withdrawal. In addition, agreeableness moderated the effect of group members' anger on OCBs, such that the relationship was stronger for more agreeable group members.

The findings contribute to the abusive supervision literature by elucidating anger as one mechanism through which ASC affects group members and by incorporating personality differences to better understand group members' behavioral responses.

This study aims to investigate which resources and sources of support are related to employee adaptability to work-related change during the COVID-19 pandemic, with implications for human resource management (HRM).

The authors analysed a survey of 1,619 employees working in architectural practice and allied fields in Australia in 2020.

Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, the authors asked whether workers would be more adaptable to change during COVID-19 if they were able to draw on a combination or bundle of supports, known as resource caravans. Hierarchical multiple regression and relative importance analysis showed that confidence in personal support networks during the pandemic was the most important predictor assisting workers to adapt to change, followed by concrete (practical, technical) organizational support for remote work. No evidence was found to corroborate this study's hypotheses that these resources provide support in bundles, challenging the notion of resource caravans in this research context.

The authors argue that COR theory has been too broadly applied to the workplace and that boundary conditions should apply to its emphasis on resource caravans. In practical terms, HRM supports to promote employee adaptability should be carefully targeted in extreme circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of nurses’ experience of the fulfilment of their psychological contract on their intention to leave the nursing profession and to consider employee engagement as a mediator between the fulfilment of the psychological contract of nurses and their intention to leave their profession.

The authors used a quantitative, cross-sectional research design. In total, 1,039 Australian nurses completed an anonymous online survey conducted via the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation website. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses.

The fulfilment of promises related to interesting job content and social atmosphere were negatively associated with intentions to leave the nursing profession, and these relationships were mediated by engagement. The fulfilment of promises related to career development, financial rewards and work–life balance were not associated with intentions to leave the nursing profession.

To ensure professional nurse retention, it is necessary to not just promise nurses interesting jobs and a supportive social atmosphere, but to manage nurse perceptions regarding the fulfilment of these promises.

Although there has been extensive research on nurse intention to leave their current job, the important area of nurse professional turnover has received less attention. The research highlights the importance of fulfilling expectations and promises related to interesting nurse job content that encourages nurse responsibility and autonomy as well as promises of a social atmosphere that includes co-operative relationships and good communication with colleagues.

This study investigates the role of national culture on the implementation and effectiveness of quality management practices. Specifically, the authors examine the dual roles of two of Hofstede's national culture dimensions (individualism and indulgence) in driving the implementation of people management practices and in moderating the relationship between people management and product quality performance.

The authors’ dataset combines a survey of 976 firms from 22 countries with Hofstede's national culture index. A multi-level analysis, at firm and country levels, is used for investigating the interplay between two dimensions of national culture (individualism and indulgence) on people management practices and product quality performance.

The authors' findings show the negative relationship between indulgence (at country level) and people management practices (at firm level) while individualism (at country level) strengthens the relationship between people management and product quality performance (at firm level). Furthermore, the finding shows that the joint interaction between individualism and indulgence (at country level) moderates the relationship between people management and product quality performance (at firm level) where the relationship is strongest when individualism is high and indulgence is low.

Understanding the interplay between national culture and management practices is important for managers in making decisions on the practices managers should implement under different cultural contexts to gain the expected outcomes.

The authors' results challenge the universalist view that suggests that quality management practices (in this case people management practices) can be applied in any context effectively to achieve high product quality performance by showing that facets of national culture influence the implementation and effectiveness of people management practices and performance. The results also provide a fresh perspective on the role of indulgence, given that it is the newest dimension in Hofstede's framework. The authors also extend previous studies which commonly only examine the main and not interactive effects of different dimensions of national culture.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction between personal values and the organizational context in influencing work behaviors. Specifically, it examines the relationships between two dimensions of personal values based on Schwartz’s value theory – self-direction and conformity; and two work behaviors – innovation and compliance.

Survey data were collected from 187 employees in Australia. Multiple regression method was used to test the hypotheses.

The results showed that organizational formalization moderated the relationship between self-direction values and innovative behaviors. As hypothesized, the positive effect of self-direction values on innovative behavior was strongest in less formalized organizations. the authors also found that conformity values predicted compliance behaviors, but no evidence of moderation by organizational formalization.

It is important for organizations seeking particular work behaviors to ensure they are hiring employees with corresponding values and structuring the degree of formalization in the organization accordingly.

This research contributes to the interactionist perspective, demonstrating that formalization interacts with employee values to influence work behaviors. Further, the authors extend previous studies on self-direction values and creative behaviors by understanding how personal values impact innovative behavior.

The purpose of this paper is to address gaps in the knowledge about human resource (HR) professional involvement in strategic decision-making in China compared with that in Australia.

First, the authors compare the strategic involvement of Chinese and Australian HR professionals. Second, based on the upper echelon theory, the authors compare the impact of chief executive officer (CEO) and top management team (TMT) between both countries on HR involvement in strategic decision-making. Data were collected from matched pairs of HR and TMT executives in China (n = 168) and in Australia (n = 102).

Results indicate a difference, despite of no statistical significance, in HR involvement in strategic decision-making between Chinese and Australian samples. TMT behavioural integration was positively related to HR involvement in strategic decision-making in a collectivistic culture (i.e. in China), but not in an individualistic culture (i.e. in Australia). However, CEO support for HRM was positively related to HR involvement in strategic decision-making in Australia, whereas it is not related in China.

The paper conducts a comparative study and practical, and research implications are discussed at the end.

Despite the utility of social identity and social climate theories in explaining individual and group behaviour within organizations, little research has been conducted on how these approaches interconnect to explain the way high-performance work systems (HPWSs) may increase job performance. This study extends one’s understanding of the human resource management (HRM)–performance relationship by examining the interconnections between these disparate social approaches within the Chinese banking context.

Drawing on a sample of 561 employees working across 62 bank branches in China, the authors test four hypotheses: (1) HPWS is positively related to social climate; (2) social climate mediates the relationship between HPWS and social identification; (3) psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between social identification and job performance; and (4) social climate, social identification and psychological empowerment sequentially mediate the relationship between HPWS and job performance. Data were collected over two waves and job (in-role) performance was rated by managers.

The authors confirm the four hypotheses. Social climate, social identification and psychological empowerment sequentially mediate the relationship between HPWS and job performance.

This study contains some limitations. First, the authors’ research sites were focussed on one main region in state-owned banks in China. Second, this study examined only one industry with a relatively homogeneous workforce (i.e. relatively young and highly educated employees).

HPWS may translate into individual performance through a supportive social climate in which staff identify themselves with their work team. This suggests that organizations should pay close attention to understanding how their HPWS system can foster a strong social climate to enhance employee identification at the work group level. Second, as the nature of work is becoming increasingly more complex and interdependent, enabling not just individuals but also work groups to function effectively, it is critical for departments and work groups to promote a collective understanding of HRM messages with shared values and goals.

This research contributes towards a more comprehensive understanding of the HRM–performance chain as a complex social process underpinned by social identity theory. The authors demonstrate that social identification and social climate both play an important role in explaining how HPWS positively affects psychological empowerment and subsequent job performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the multi-level relationship between people-related total quality management (TQM) practices and employee job satisfaction. The authors draw upon organizational climate theory to hypothesize that TQM is related to job satisfaction at the individual employee level, as well as at the organizational level in the form of shared perceptions of TQM practices in the workplace.

Multi-level modelling was used to test the study hypotheses. The sample was drawn from 201 employees working in 23 organizations in Australia.

The findings show that people-related TQM practices are positively related to job satisfaction at both individual and organizational levels, with a stronger effect on employee attitudes observed at the organizational level.

The statistically significant multi-level relationship between people-related TQM practices and job satisfaction extends the findings of previous studies conducted only at the individual level; thus, supporting the sustainability of TQM as a management principle at a company-wide level.

The findings broadly support the implementation of people-related TQM practices as part of a strategy of creating a “high performance” climate in organizations, which in turn, will likely to positively affect both individual and organizational performance.

From a wider social perspective, the implementation of TQM practices as a company-wide initiative could facilitate greater corporate social responsibility of the organization. Such practices as training, involving, and empowering employees can promote social commitment by valuing employees as one important stakeholder.

This is the first empirical study to the best of the author’s knowledge that uses multi-level modelling to examine the relationship between TQM practices and employee attitudes such as job satisfaction.

The development of sustainable employee-focused HRM approaches have grown in importance during and post-COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which wellbeing-oriented HRM practices can transform workers’ feelings of burnout to enable thriving, and subsequently enhance in-role employee performance in high workload contexts.

This study draws on data gathered from 561 employees in bank branches operating in China across two time periods. The authors test the following hypotheses: (1) wellbeing-oriented HRM is positively related to employee thriving; (2) perceived workload is positively related to employee burnout; (3) thriving will mediate the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance; (4) burnout will mediate the relationship between workload and employee performance; (5) thriving will mediate the relationship between workload and employee performance; and (6) burnout and thriving will sequentially mediate the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance.

This study confirmed hypotheses 1–5. Hypothesis 6 was not confirmed. The authors find that thriving mediates the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance, and burnout mediates the relationship between workload and employee performance. The authors also find workload was positively related to thriving (after controlling for burnout), consistent with the challenge–hindrance model of occupational stress.

The study builds on growing evidence that employees can thrive at work even when in stressful situations by using conservation of resources theory to examine how wellbeing-oriented HRM practices act as protective resources against demanding work situations. Findings demonstrate alternative pathways through which wellbeing-oriented HRM can enhance employee performance via reducing burnout and enhancing thriving.