Linda Koopmans, Claire Bernaards, Vincent Hildebrandt, Stef van Buuren, Allard J. van der Beek and Henrica C.W. de Vet
The purpose of the current study is to develop a generic and short questionnaire to measure work performance at the individual level – the Individual Work Performance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the current study is to develop a generic and short questionnaire to measure work performance at the individual level – the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ). The IWPQ was based on a four‐dimensional conceptual framework, in which individual work performance consisted of task performance, contextual performance, adaptive performance, and counterproductive work behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
After pilot‐testing, the 47‐item IWPQ was field‐tested amongst a representative sample of 1,181 Dutch blue, pink, and white collar workers. Factor analysis was used to examine whether the four‐dimensional conceptual framework could be confirmed. Rasch analysis was used to examine the functioning of the items in more detail. Finally, it was examined whether generic scales could be constructed.
Findings
A generic, three‐dimensional conceptual framework was identified, in which individual work performance consisted of task performance, contextual performance, and counterproductive work behavior. Generic, short scales could be constructed that fitted the Rasch model.
Research limitations/implications
A generic, short questionnaire can be used to measure individual work performance across occupational sectors. In future versions of the IWPQ, more difficult items should be added to improve discriminative ability at the high ranges of the scale.
Originality/value
This study shows that, using Rasch analysis, a generic and short questionnaire can be used to measure individual work performance.
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Hayat Yağmur Turan and Hasan Cinnioğlu
The environment in which businesses perpetuate their vital existence can be named as VUCA due to its variable, uncertain, complex and ambiguous structure. In the world of VUCA…
Abstract
The environment in which businesses perpetuate their vital existence can be named as VUCA due to its variable, uncertain, complex and ambiguous structure. In the world of VUCA, which is far beyond the classical environmental conditions, the success of the businesses largely depends on the performance level of the staff they employ. The high or low level can be directly affected by the leadership style which the business managers will be exhibiting. Agile leadership type emerges as one of the leadership styles that could be successful in such environmental conditions. For this reason, the main purpose of this section is to provide information about the agile leadership issues that play a fundamental role in the success of businesses in today’s VUCA world, which can positively affect the employee performance and this level of performance, and, at the same time, which could be successful in these environmental conditions. In order to achieve this aim, first of all, the concepts of agile leadership, employee performance and VUCA world are explained. In the following sections, agile leadership and the relationship of this leadership style with employee performance are discussed in the VUCA world spiral.
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Mahmoud Ahmad Mahmoud, Shuhymee Ahmad and Donny Abdul Latief Poespowidjojo
The objective of this paper is to extend the extant literature on the relationship between psychological safety (PS) and individual performance (IP) through the mediating…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to extend the extant literature on the relationship between psychological safety (PS) and individual performance (IP) through the mediating influence of intrapreneurial behavior (IB). Therefore, the social exchange theory (SET) and psychological entrepreneurship theory (PET) are integrated to achieve this objective.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey method of data collection was engaged through self-administered questionnaire. The sample of 355 medium enterprises (MEs) production/operations managers was analyzed by means of partial least square (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
The result shows that PS has a significant direct relationship with both IP and IB; likewise, IB has a significant positive influence on IP. The mediating influence of IB on the PS–IP relationship was also confirmed.
Practical implications
The result suggests that PS–IP relationship will be better explained when IB is fortified among managers. Therefore, MEs could stimulate production/operations manager performance by encouraging IB through PS–IP relationship.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to study the influence of individual-level PS on the complete individual-level IB and the mediating influence of individual IB on PS–IP relationship. Moreover, the intraprenerurship literature is relatively lacking expressly among developing countries and precisely Nigeria. As such, the attention of researchers is important on the role of individual-level IB in MEs against the assumption that entrepreneurial events are limited to firm-level concerns.
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Thinh Nguyen-Duc, Linh Phuong Nguyen, Tam To Phuong, Hanh Thi Hien Nguyen and Vinh Thi Hong Cao
This study aims to address the reliability and construct validity of the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) in a Vietnamese context. Using the IWPQ as a measurement…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to address the reliability and construct validity of the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) in a Vietnamese context. Using the IWPQ as a measurement tool, this research also examined whether demographic features (such as gender, education level, work experience and position in a company) influenced employees’ work performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The Vietnamese IWPQ was validated via a two-step process of factor analysis, including an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The data collected were randomly divided into two subsamples to independently serve the EFA (n = 341) and CFA (n = 342). ANOVAs and t-tests were also used to examine the differences in individual work performance (IWP) among different demographic categories.
Findings
The results of the current study confirmed the applicability of the three-dimensional IWPQ in a Vietnamese context. In addition, they also indicated several demographic features that impacted employees’ patterns of responses to IWPQ dimensions.
Research limitations/implications
This study focused on the construct validity of the IWPQ, without taking the content, face or criterion validity into consideration. Thus, future research should be conducted to yield a more comprehensive validation of the instrument, to measure the relationship between human resource development (HRD) practices and employee performance and to examine the relationship between strategic HRD and IWP and firm outcomes. In addition, the validated Vietnamese version of the IWPQ may inspire comparative studies on individual performance within and between units in an organization and among organizations and industries.
Practical implications
HRD practitioners can now use the validated IWPQ in the Vietnamese language to assess fluctuations in and analyze current staff performance, thereby facilitating human resource management and development. This study also offers recommendations for business leaders and HRD practitioners striving to implement strategic HRD aimed at reducing disparities in gender and between educational qualifications and job assignments at workplace, with the overarching goals of enhancing staff performance. These recommendations prove instrumental in improving staff performance, strengthening organizational efficiency and ultimately tackling the issue of low productivity in Vietnam and neighboring countries.
Social implications
This study findings underscore the significance of embracing strategic HRD while taking into account individual, organizational and contextual factors that influence IWP. This approach serves to bridge current gaps related to IWP, including Vietnam’s comparatively lower productivity compared to neighboring nations, educational qualifications and role allocations within the workplace, as well as the prevailing work standards and strategic objectives.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this rigorously validated Vietnamese version of the IWPQ is the first of its kind in Vietnam, making a significant contribution to inclusivity initiatives and offering substantial evidence to affirm the IWPQ’s relevance across diverse contexts.
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Neha Shrivastava and Pavan Mishra
This paper aims to synergize the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory with the Intelligent Career theory (ICT) to identify the potential influence of career competencies (CCs) on…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to synergize the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory with the Intelligent Career theory (ICT) to identify the potential influence of career competencies (CCs) on individual work performance.
Design/methodology/approach
We explore a motivational process within JD-R theory, where CCs such as knowing-why, knowing-how, and knowing-whom serve as personal resources to optimize contextual performance (CP), task performance (TP), and reduce counterproductive work behavior (CWB). The study comprises two phases with samples of human resource (HR) professionals in India. Phase-1 (N = 107) involves adapting measurement instruments through exploratory factor analysis, while phase-2 (N = 396) tests the model using structural equation modeling. We applied the confirmatory factor analysis marker technique, with “conflict avoidance” as the non-ideal marker variable.
Findings
Our research indicates that CCs positively influence TP based on statistical and substantive significance. However, their influence on CP and CWB lacks substantive significance.
Research limitations/implications
This study enhances the JD-R theory by highlighting individual performance as a key outcome of personal resources, like CCs, within the theory’s motivational process.
Practical implications
Organizations can structure skill development programs to align with specific CCs and desired outcomes, using them as benchmarks to assess effectiveness.
Originality/value
To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to apply both JD-R theory and ICT in a work context, specifically among Indian HR professionals, which remains an unexplored area. Additionally, we assume that CCs may initiate motivation independently, even in the absence of job resources.
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One of the criticisms that can be addressed to the existing HRM literature is that performance is often the primary target, leaving well-being as a secondary consideration. This…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the criticisms that can be addressed to the existing HRM literature is that performance is often the primary target, leaving well-being as a secondary consideration. This study aims to put employee well-being at the center of HRM concerns. By focusing on needs-supply fit and social exchange theories, our approach focuses on employees’ perceptions of the effectiveness and fairness of HRM practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a sample of 740 workers collected via an electronic survey, HRM practices were grouped into bundles using factor analysis to form an HRM system. The impact of the HRM system and its bundles on employee well-being and job performance was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The mediating role of well-being was tested with Stata’s medsem package.
Findings
The HRM system and its bundles (Include, Care, Reward and Enhance) derived from the perceived effectiveness and fairness of HRM practices have a positive direct effect on employee well-being and a positive indirect effect on job performance through the mediating role of well-being. However, the bundles have no direct effect on job performance, highlighting the importance of integrating employee well-being into HRM concerns.
Originality/value
These findings reveal that when employees consider HRM practices to be fair and effective, it promotes their well-being, which has a positive impact on their job performance.
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Deepanjana Varshney and Nirbhay Krishna Varshney
Workforce agility (WFA) is an emergent research topic in volatile times. However, there is a lack of research in understanding the leadership dimension that triggers such an…
Abstract
Purpose
Workforce agility (WFA) is an emergent research topic in volatile times. However, there is a lack of research in understanding the leadership dimension that triggers such an attribute in organizations. Our study aims to understand the impact of workforce agility on empowering leadership behavior and employee performance dimensions (task performance, contextual performance and counterproductive work behavior).
Design/methodology/approach
We collected data from 236 employees using reliable, validated scales and conducted various statistical analyses.
Findings
Our results demonstrated that WFA (1) partially mediated the relationship between empowering leadership and contextual performance (CP), (2) has not mediated the relationship between empowering leadership and counterproductive behavior (CWB) and (3) mediated the relationship between empowering leadership and task performance (TP).
Practical implications
Our research has practical implications for management practitioners. It suggests hiring and developing an agile workforce through appropriate training and development programs can significantly impact organizational performance. Furthermore, it provides insights into building leadership capabilities that sustain workforce agility practices, empowering leaders to make informed decisions.
Originality/value
Our research fills a significant gap in the existing literature by exploring the effects of WFA on leadership and performance. This novel approach provides a fresh perspective on the dynamics of organizational behavior, making it a valuable addition to the field.
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Muhammad Arslan and Jamal Roudaki
Organisational cynicism (OC) is a growing trend in contemporary organisations. However, its impact on employee performance (EP) remains understudied. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
Organisational cynicism (OC) is a growing trend in contemporary organisations. However, its impact on employee performance (EP) remains understudied. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by investigating its effect on EP. The study also investigates the moderating effect of employee engagement (EE) on the relationship between OC and EP.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data are collected through questionnaire from employees (N=200) of various health organisations in Pakistan by employing a convenient sampling technique. Hierarchical multiple regression is employed by using SPSS.
Findings
The findings of correlation and regression analyses reveal that OC has significant negative relationship with EP. Hence, the patient care is compromised in sampled organisations due to poorer performance of employees. Moreover, findings also reveal that EE has a moderating effect on relationship between OC and EP. Therefore, hospital management needs to increase EE to reduce the cynicism and improve performance. In addition, organisations and managers need to consider their role and actions creating the conditions that lead to cynicism among employees and should take trustworthy steps to increase employee retention and engagement and, ultimately, their performance. Moreover, the findings of the study indicate that the majority of respondents are not happy with their organisations. They also feel that the organisation is not fulfilling its promises and betraying them in several ways. This breach of contract becomes the reason for OC among employees and badly affects their performance. Most of respondents give importance to their career development and the findings reveal that organisations are not focussing on career development of their employees.
Research limitations/implications
The study has some limitations and implications. The organisational culture can mitigate the negative effect of OC and enhance performance by promoting EE. It is recommended that employee cynicism can be reduced by providing a supportive environment, EE and fairness. Nevertheless, the findings of this study still help supervisors to inhibit this harmful effect by reducing the level of psychological contract violation and organisational politics that will reduce the level of cynicism among employees and improve their performance.
Practical implications
It is found that OC has a major impact on the behaviour and attitude of employees, supervisors and representatives on the one hand and, ultimately, the organisation, on the other hand. These effects have specific susceptibilities due to the vicinity of the employees. It is recommended that employee cynicism can be reduced by providing a supportive environment.
Social implications
The study also helps psychologists to understand employees’ attitudes and improve personnel selection to ensure they recruit the right people. Leaders need to communicate honestly, effectively and frequently to address cynicism in order to ensure ample staffing and resource levels that result in good patient care and positive work attitudes at hospitals.
Originality/value
According to the researchers’ best knowledge, only few studies tried to investigate the relationship between organisational cynicism and EP by employing the moderating effect of EE. Therefore, it will be a good contribution in existing literature to understand consequences of cynicisms.
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Ana Junça Silva and António Caetano
This research relied on the broaden-and-build (B&B) theory to explore emotional predictors for curiosity-related differences in daily engagement and contextual performance. We…
Abstract
Purpose
This research relied on the broaden-and-build (B&B) theory to explore emotional predictors for curiosity-related differences in daily engagement and contextual performance. We tested a moderated mediation model, arguing that daily positive emotions would be related to daily work engagement and contextual performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 586 participants participated in a five-day diary study (n = 2379).
Findings
Multi-level modeling showed that, at the person level of analysis, daily positive emotions were significantly and positively related to daily work engagement and, in turn, daily performance. At the daily level of analysis, the mediation model was moderated by curiosity, such that it became stronger for individuals who scored higher on curiosity.
Originality/value
These findings make relevant theoretical contributions to understanding the power of curiosity for daily emotional dynamics in organizations. Compared to traditional between-person variables, these results also expand knowledge on within-person processes that explain daily work engagement and contextual performance. In sum, this study shows that “curiosity does not kill the cat”; instead, it makes it productive.
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Miriam Arnold and Thomas Rigotti
Health-oriented leadership (HoL) encompasses leaders' health behaviors and attitudes toward their followers (StaffCare) and themselves (SelfCare), and there is ample evidence of…
Abstract
Purpose
Health-oriented leadership (HoL) encompasses leaders' health behaviors and attitudes toward their followers (StaffCare) and themselves (SelfCare), and there is ample evidence of its positive effects on employee well-being. However, research on the antecedents of StaffCare is still in its infancy and does not account for within-person variability. Therefore, the authors adopt a leader-centered perspective and propose a serial mediation model that links leaders' intrapersonal fluctuations in job resources and demands to StaffCare, mediated by leaders' SelfCare, work engagement and emotional exhaustion.
Design/methodology/approach
Over five working weeks, 234 school principals responded to a weekly questionnaire, resulting in a total of 956 responses. Multilevel structural equation models were used for analysis.
Findings
The data supported SelfCare as a mechanism in leaders' motivational and health-impairment processes. The proposed serial mediation of the relationship between job resources and StaffCare via leader SelfCare and work engagement was also supported.
Practical implications
The study can guide job redesign for leaders by highlighting the role of job resources. Investing in interventions aimed at the SelfCare of leaders is likely to have a positive impact on their leadership.
Originality/value
These findings suggest that job characteristics and the leader's well-being shape leader cognitions and behaviors. Therefore, the authors suggest integrating the HoL model into the job demands–resources (JD-R) model for leaders.