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1 – 10 of 425Kikachukwu Odiaka and Kirk Chang
Various employee engagement strategies are proposed to boost organisational performance and business prosperity. Interestingly scholars criticise that these strategies may not…
Abstract
Purpose
Various employee engagement strategies are proposed to boost organisational performance and business prosperity. Interestingly scholars criticise that these strategies may not always work and mixed views are proposed, leaving a glaring knowledge gap. Drawing on the theories of high-performance-work-practices (HPWPs), this paper aims to conduct a qualitative study, aiming to explore how strategies affect employee engagement and analyse the underlying mechanism.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper gathers research data by interviewing five managers and 15 employees in the hospitality sector. It analyses data through thematic analysis and adopts “Abilities Motivation Opportunities” (AMO) model in improving the analytic rigour. Ethical practices are arranged throughout the project, including consent form, anonymity in participation, confidentiality in responses, freedom to withdraw and data protection.
Findings
Research findings have advanced employee engagement literatures in two ways. On the one hand, when managers recognise employees’ job ability and effort, employees support engagement strategies. On the other hand, however, if managers do not appreciate employees’ job ability and effort, engagement strategies may not necessarily work.
Practical implications
This paper suggests managers display a positive attitude towards subordinates, such as appreciating subordinates’ effort and showing trust and support, if they wish their engagement strategies maximise to the full potential, particularly when managers’ trust is perceived important by employees. Maintaining a healthy communication channel between managers and subordinates also benefits the employee engagement, working morale and overall performance.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current research is the first in its kind, examining hotel employee engagement practice and its implications on performance management in the sector of Nigeria hospitality. Unlike prior studies which link HPWPs to performance directly, our research findings have clarified how HPWPs affect performance through the underlying factors. These are employee engagement and managers’ attitude towards employees.
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Kirk Chang, Sylvain Max and Jérémy Celse
Employee’s lying behavior has become ubiquitous at work, and managers are keen to know what can be done to curb such behavior. Managers often apply anti-lying strategies in their…
Abstract
Purpose
Employee’s lying behavior has become ubiquitous at work, and managers are keen to know what can be done to curb such behavior. Managers often apply anti-lying strategies in their management and, in particular, the role of self-awareness on lying intervention has drawn academic attention recently. Drawing on multi-disciplinary literature, this study aims to investigate the efficacy of self-awareness in reducing lying behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the perspectives of positivism and deductive reasoning, a quasi-experimental research approach was adopted. Employees from Dijon, France were recruited as research participants. Based on the literature, different conditions (scenario manipulation) were designed and implemented in the laboratory, in which participants were exposed to pre-set lying opportunities and their responses were analyzed accordingly.
Findings
Unlike prior studies which praised the merits of self-awareness, the authors found that self-awareness did not decrease lying behavior, not encouraging the confession of lying either. Employees actually lied more when they believed other employees were lying.
Practical implications
This study suggests managers not to rely on employee’s self-awareness; rather, the concept of self-awareness should be incorporated into the work ethics, and managers should schedule regular workshops to keep employees informed of the importance of ethics. When employees are regularly reminded of the ethics and appreciate its importance, their intention of lying is more likely to decrease.
Originality/value
To the best of the atuhors’ knowledge, the current research is the first in its kind to investigate lying intervention of employees in the laboratory setting. Research findings have brought new insights into the lying intervention literature, which has important implication on the implementation of anti-lying strategies.
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Managers have mixed views of how artificial intelligence (AI) affects personnel management (PM). The purpose of this paper is to identify potential knowledge gap and bring new…
Abstract
Purpose
Managers have mixed views of how artificial intelligence (AI) affects personnel management (PM). The purpose of this paper is to identify potential knowledge gap and bring new insights to the AI-personnel-management literature.
Design/methodology/approach
Both applicability and theoretical perspectives are adopted to critically discuss the constraint and opportunity of AI in PM. Tables and narrative analysis are used to clarify the role of AI in managerial practices.
Findings
Research findings have helped to develop a new model titled AI in Personnel Management (APM). The APM model unfolds itself in three levels, followed by potential outcome. The three levels comprise “organizational, managerial and individual job levels,” and the outcome comprises “organizational performance, employees’ well-being and staff turnover rate”.
Research limitations/implications
The APM model helps managers to understand the implication of AI in their workplace. With better understanding of AI’s implication, managers are more likely to develop appropriate AI-driven managerial policies, which in turn benefit employees and their organizations. The APM model acts as a reference guide, helping managers to evaluate the AI’s constraint and opportunity in their managerial practices.
Originality/value
The APM model is valuable and informative to the academic researchers, as it has first responded to Malik et al. (2019)’s call (re: the absence of AI and management literature), and, more importantly, it has advanced the knowledge of AI–management relationship, supporting scholars to further understand the role of AI in PM.
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Usman Talat, Kirk Chang and Bang Nguyen
The purpose of this paper is to review intuition in the context of organizational change. The authors argue that intuition as a concept requires attention and its formulation is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review intuition in the context of organizational change. The authors argue that intuition as a concept requires attention and its formulation is necessary prior to its application in organizations. The paper provides a critique of dual process theory and highlights shortcomings in organization theorizing of intuition.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is conceptual and provides in-depth theoretical discussions by drawing from the literature on decision and intuition in the context of organizational change.
Findings
Investigating whether dual process theory is sufficiently clear, the authors found ambiguity. Specifically, the current definition provided by Dane and Pratt is not clear in terms of its four sections: the consciousness of non-conscious processing, involving holistic associations, that are produced rapidly, which result in affectively charged judgments. Finally, the authors note that the evolutionary perspective is missing and they provide foundational concepts for such a perspective, including the discussion of information templates, memes and genes, as argued by research, condition intuition.
Originality/value
The paper finds that an evolutionary perspective develops a picture of intuition as an adaptive resource. This evolutionary perspective is currently absent in research and the authors provide foundational concepts for such a perspective. They propose specific arguments to highlight the evolutionary perspective.
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The purpose of this study is to examine employee imagination and implications for entrepreneurs of China. In 2015, the European Group of Organization Studies released a call for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine employee imagination and implications for entrepreneurs of China. In 2015, the European Group of Organization Studies released a call for papers highlighting poor knowledge of employee imagination in organizations. To address this need, the current study hypothesizes employee imagination consisting of seven conditions common to the organizational experience of Chinese Entrepreneurs.
Design/methodology/approach
The current paper reviews the Chinese enterprising context. Cases from China are used to illustrate the effects of proposed conditions and their value for entrepreneurs and innovators in businesses undergoing change.
Findings
Employee imagination underpins and conditions how Chinese employees make sense of their organizations and better understand the process of organizational change. From the viewpoint of human resource management, emphasis on coaching and developing imagination enables businesses to stay competitive and adapt to environmental demands such as lack of information, too much information or the need for new information.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed conditions apply to the Chinese context; however, their application to wider contexts is suggested and requires attention.
Practical implications
Employee imagination was found to be a powerful tool, which facilitates the process of organizational change management.
Originality/value
Theoretically, the research adds new insights to knowledge of a poorly understood organizational behavior topic – employee imagination. Practically, the research findings provide mangers with knowledge of conditions, which could be adopted as powerful tools in facilitating organizational change management.
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Chloe Shu-Hua Yeh, Jermaine Ravalier and Kirk Chang
There is an urge worldwide that school leaders’ mental health and well-being must be prioritised within the education recovery at the local, national and global policy levels…
Abstract
Purpose
There is an urge worldwide that school leaders’ mental health and well-being must be prioritised within the education recovery at the local, national and global policy levels. This research identified the intentional well-being practices that school leaders cultivated as they faced unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected through one-to-one in-depth semi-structured interviews with ten senior school leaders from primary and secondary schools in England. During the pandemic, online interviews were organised using Zoom. An inductive followed by deductive approach qualitative data analysis was employed to offer insights into the multidimensional and sensitive nature of school leaders’ well-being.
Findings
The findings indicated that despite a reported decline in well-being, the participants intentionally engaged in well-being cultivation practices which were both relational: developing multi-faceted support networks, and individual: developing self-care and self-regulation skills. These practices provided different psychological and practical needs necessary for maintaining their well-being and work functioning facing the pandemic.
Originality/value
This study affirms school leaders’ well-being cultivation is an intentional and effortful process involving relational and individual practices to support their multidimensional well-being during extreme challenges. These practices can be mindfully and strategically cultivated. This study enhances the theoretical understanding of school leader well-being and offers timely insights into well-being initiatives in leadership development programmes for educational leaders and policymakers amid global challenges.
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Bang Nguyen, Kirk Chang, Chris Rowley and Arnold Japutra
The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) by combining two heterogeneous perspectives, integrating OCB-related factors at work using both…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) by combining two heterogeneous perspectives, integrating OCB-related factors at work using both personal and organizational perspectives, thus contributing to the knowledge of OCB.
Design/methodology/approach
Two studies are conducted using surveys in Taiwan with a snowball sampling technique to enlarge participation. Study 1 analyzes the relationships between organizational identification (OID), expected psychological contract (PC), perceived PC (PPC) and OCB. Study 2 analyzes the relationship between OCB and principals’ (or head teachers’) leadership frames (LFs).
Findings
Study 1 finds that OID is an antecedent of OCB and that expected PC (EPC) moderates the OID-OCB relationship. Study 2 finds that the symbolic LF is the only antecedent of OCB and that different LFs influence each other in predicting OCB. EPC is found to moderate the OID-OCB relationship, indicating that primary school teachers’ (PSTs) with higher levels of EPC are more likely to demonstrate OCB at school. Interestingly, PPC did not demonstrate such a moderating effect.
Originality/value
The study makes three contributions. First, the authors analyze composite OCB via identity and PC theories (Study 1). Second, the authors scrutinize specific aspects of OCB via leader-member-exchange and LF theories. These aspects include assisting colleagues, job commitment, working morale and non-selfish behavior (Study 2). Third, the authors increase understanding of PSTs’ OCB, discussing important implications for school principals and human resource managers as well as perhaps others in similar sectors.
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Kirk Chang, Bang Nguyen, Kuo-Tai Cheng, Chien-Chih Kuo and Iling Lee
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between HR practice (four aspects), organisational commitment and citizenship behaviour at primary schools in Taiwan. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between HR practice (four aspects), organisational commitment and citizenship behaviour at primary schools in Taiwan. The four human resource (HR) aspects include: recruitment and placement (RP), teaching, education and career (TEC) development, support, communication and retention (SCR), and performance and appraisal (PA).
Design/methodology/approach
With the assistance from the school HR managers and using an anti-common method variance strategy, research data from 568 incumbent teachers in Taiwan are collected, analysed and evaluated.
Findings
Different from prior studies, highlighting the merits of HR practice, the study discovers that HR practice may not necessarily contribute to citizenship behaviour. Teachers with positive perceptions of RP and TEC are more likely to demonstrate citizenship behaviour, whereas teachers with positive perceptions of SCR and PA are not. In addition, the study finds three moderators: affective organisational commitment (AOC), rank of positions, and campus size. The analysis shows that teachers with more AOC, higher positions and from smaller campus are more likely to demonstrate organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB).
Originality/value
The study provides a closer look at the HR-OCB relationship in Taiwan. It reveals that a positive perception of HR practice may not necessarily contribute to OCB occurrence. In addition, the results indicate that teachers have different views about varying HR aspects. Specifically, aspects of RP and TEC development receive relatively higher levels of positive perception, whereas aspects of SCR and PA receive relatively lower levels of positive perception. Questions arise as to whether HR practice may lead to more OCB at primary schools. If this statement is true, school managers shall think further of how to promote OCB using other policies, rather than relying on the HR practice investigated here.
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Jérémy Celse, Kirk Chang, Sylvain Max and Sarah Quinton
The purpose of this paper is to analyse employees’ lying behaviour and its findings have important implication for the management and prevention strategies of lying in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse employees’ lying behaviour and its findings have important implication for the management and prevention strategies of lying in the workplace. Employee lying has caused both reputational and financial damage to employers, organisations and public authorities. This study adopts a psycho-cognitive perspective to examine the mechanism of lying reduction and the influence envy has on lying behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
Incorporating social comparison phenomenon and cognate studies this study suggests that envy may restrain people from lying in the workplace. Specific hypotheses are developed and tested with 271 participants using dice game scenarios.
Findings
Research findings have found that people are likely to lie if lying brings them benefits. However, the findings also reveal that the envy aroused between two people may act as a psychological barrier to reduce the tendency to lie.
Originality/value
The research findings have provided an alternative perspective to the current prevailing view of envy as a negative emotion. Envy need not always be negative. Envy can provide an internal drive for people to work harder and enhance themselves but it can also act as a brake mechanism and self-regulator to reduce lying, and thereby has a potentially positive value.
Bang Nguyen, Kirk Chang and Lyndon Simkin
Today marketers operate in globalised markets, planning new ways to engage with domestic and foreign customers alike. While there is a greater need to understand these two…
Abstract
Purpose
Today marketers operate in globalised markets, planning new ways to engage with domestic and foreign customers alike. While there is a greater need to understand these two customer groups, few studies examine the impact of customer engagement tactics on the two customer groups, focusing on their perceptual differences. Even less attention is given to customer engagement tactics in a cross-cultural framework. In this research, the authors investigate customers in China and UK, aiming to compare their perceptual differences on the impact of multiple customer engagement tactics.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a quantitative approach with 286 usable responses from China and the UK obtained through a combination of person-administered survey and computer-based survey screening process, the authors test a series of hypotheses to distinguish across-cultural differences.
Findings
Findings show that the collectivists (Chinese customers) perceive customer engagement tactics differently than the individualists (UK customers). The Chinese customers are more sensitive to price and reputation, whereas the UK customers respond more strongly to service, communication and customisation. Chinese customers’ concerns with extensive price and reputation comparisons may be explained by their awareness towards face (status), increased self-expression and equality.
Practical implications
The findings challenge the conventional practice of using similar customer engagement tactics for a specific market place with little concern for multiple cultural backgrounds. The paper proposes strategies for marketers facing challenges in this globalised context.
Originality/value
Several contributions have been made to the literatures. First, the study showed the effects of culture on the customers’ perceptual differences. Second, the study provided more information to clarify customers’ different reactions towards customer engagement tactics, highlighted by concerns towards face and status. Third, the study provided empirical evidence to support the use of multiple customer engagement tactics to the across cultural studies.
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