Paola Spagnoli and Cristian Balducci
Organizational change eliciting negative outcomes might play a role in the development of workplace bullying. The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and the…
Abstract
Purpose
Organizational change eliciting negative outcomes might play a role in the development of workplace bullying. The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and the interaction effect of two particular negative outcomes of organizational change, such as high workload and job insecurity, on workplace bullying.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants in the study were 134 Italian workers who had just experienced an organizational change. A multiple regression analysis, using the stepwise method, was conducted to test for whether workload, job insecurity, and their interactions predicted workplace bullying.
Findings
Results show that high level of workload is related to workplace bullying; job insecurity is not directly related to workplace bullying; the interaction between high workload and job insecurity enhanced the risk for workplace bullying. In particular, when the level of job insecurity is high there is a stronger relationship between workload and bullying, compared to when the level of job insecurity is low.
Research limitations/implications
The cross-sectional design applied does not allow inference on the causal relationships between the predictors and outcomes.
Practical implications
In order to decrease the occurrence of bullying, managers should avoid that employees experience high workload after organizational change by carefully designing the reengineering process. Additionally, they should try to reduce, as far as possible, employee perceptions of job insecurity.
Originality/value
The focus of the study is on the “survivors” after organizational change and on particular interaction of workplace bullying’s causes that could extremely enhance the risk of the phenomena.
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Maria Luisa Farnese, Paola Spagnoli, Liliya Scafuri Kovalchuk and Michael Tomlinson
The evolving dynamics of the labour market make graduates’ future employability an important issue for higher education (HE) institutions, prompting universities to complement the…
Abstract
Purpose
The evolving dynamics of the labour market make graduates’ future employability an important issue for higher education (HE) institutions, prompting universities to complement the conventional graduate skills approach with a wider focus on graduate forms of capital that may enhance their sense of employability. This study, adopting a capital perspective, explores whether and how teachers in HE, when acknowledged as knowledgeable trustworthy actors, may affect graduates’ employability. It investigates how they can mobilise undergraduate cultural capital through socialisation, and shape their pre-professional identity, paving the way for university-to-work transition.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the hypothesised model, a self-report online questionnaire was administered to a sample of 616 undergraduates attending different Italian universities. Multiple mediating models were tested using the SEM framework.
Findings
Results supported the tested model and showed that trust in knowledgeable HE teachers was associated with undergraduates’ perceived employability both directly and through both mediators (i.e. academic socialisation and identification with future professionality).
Research limitations/implications
This research explores a capital conceptualisation of graduate employability, identifying possible processes for implementing graduates’ capital across their academic experience and providing initial evidence of their interplay and contribution to transition into the labour market.
Originality/value
These findings provide empirical support to possible forms of capital that HE institutions may fulfil to enhance their undergraduate employability throughout their academic career, which serves as a liminal space allowing undergraduates to begin building a tentative professional identity.
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Paola Spagnoli, Alessandro Lo Presti and Carmela Buono
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of organisational career growth (OCG) in the process linking organisational work–family support and work–family conflict.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of organisational career growth (OCG) in the process linking organisational work–family support and work–family conflict.
Design/methodology/approach
Since previous contributions reported theoretical and empirical evidence of possible gender differences in this process, a moderated mediation model was examined including gender as moderating variable of both direct and indirect effects. Conditional process analysis was used to test the hypotheses on a sample of 507 Italian employees who were also parents.
Findings
Results showed a significant mediation effect of OCG in the relationship between organisational work–family support and work–family conflict. Furthermore, evidence of a moderated effect of gender was found in the way that the negative direct effect of organisational work–family support on work–family conflict was stronger among women, whereas the direct effect of OCG on work–family conflict was significant only for men.
Originality/value
This is the first study addressing the possible negative effect of OCG on a specific target of employees.
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Paola Spagnoli, Maria Luisa Farnese, Francesca D’Olimpio, Andrea Millefiorini and Liliya Scafuri Kovalchuk
Although Colquitt’s Organizational Justice Scale (COJS) is one of the most widely used organizational justice scales (OJS) worldwide, a rigorous adaptation and validation in Italy…
Abstract
Purpose
Although Colquitt’s Organizational Justice Scale (COJS) is one of the most widely used organizational justice scales (OJS) worldwide, a rigorous adaptation and validation in Italy is still missing. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the construct validity and reliability of the Italian translation of the scale.
Design/methodology/approach
Factorial and concurrent validity were examined to assess construct validity. A confirmatory factorial analysis through structural equation modelling was conducted on five factorial models: one-factor, two-factor, three-factor, four-factor and second-order factor model. Concurrent validity implied the examination of the relationships between organizational justice and job satisfaction (convergent validity) and between organizational justice and workplace bullying (discriminant validity).
Findings
Evidence of the prevalence of the original Colquitt (2001) four-factor model was found, though also the second-order model obtained adequate goodness of fit. Findings supported both convergent and discriminant validity. Reliability analysis reported evidence of excellent internal consistency. Thus, the Italian version of the OJS can be used in Italy for research and practical purposes.
Originality/value
This is the first study properly addressing the factorial and concurrent validity of the OJS in Italy.
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Paola Spagnoli and Antonio Caetano
This study aims to test the mediating role of work satisfaction aspects, such as satisfaction with the work itself and satisfaction with human resource practices, in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to test the mediating role of work satisfaction aspects, such as satisfaction with the work itself and satisfaction with human resource practices, in the relationship between the Big Five and organisational commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 190 new police officers in a three‐wave longitudinal survey were analysed by structural equation modelling (SEM).
Findings
Results showed that: satisfaction with human resource practices completely mediated the relationship between openness to experience and normative commitment; satisfaction with the work itself completely mediated the relationship between conscientiousness and normative commitment whereas it partially mediated the relationship between extroversion and affective commitment.
Research limitations/implications
This study is focused on the police context. Future studies should investigate other contexts for comparison.
Practical implications
The predictive effect of personality on both job satisfaction and organisational commitment has some practical utility with regard to selection practices. During the organisational entry process, organisations should monitor different aspects of job satisfaction in order to foster a positive environment for employees.
Originality/value
To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the process linking personality to job satisfaction and organisational commitment in a unique longitudinal model during the organisational socialisation process.
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Paola Spagnoli, Antonio Caetano, Giancarlo Tanucci and Vera Lourenço de Sousa
Despite more than three decades of studies, the role of information‐seeking during organizational socialization remains ambiguous. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite more than three decades of studies, the role of information‐seeking during organizational socialization remains ambiguous. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role played by information‐seeking behaviour during the organizational socialization process.
Design/methodology/approach
Two different information‐seeking behaviors (implicit and explicit) were considered as mediators in the relationship between personality (extroversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness), organizational variables (LMX and POS) and organizational socialization outcomes (task mastery, social integration, role ambiguity, role conflict). Analysis carried out with SEM (structural equation modelling) on longitudinal survey data from 316 new police officers during their first six months of work showed interesting results regarding the two hypothesized mediators.
Findings
In particular, the results show that the two information‐seeking behaviors seem to be related to different paths that link personality and social‐exchange variables to organizational outcomes.
Originality/value
The paper's findings provide useful clues for a better understanding of the role of information‐seeking behaviour during the socialization process and highlight the importance of social support in predicting newcomer adjustment.
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Maria I. Simeon, Piera Buonincontri, Fernando Cinquegrani and Assunta Martone
This paper aims to analyse online reviews to explore the experiences of tourists related to cultural attractions. Furthermore, the study identifies similarities and differences…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse online reviews to explore the experiences of tourists related to cultural attractions. Furthermore, the study identifies similarities and differences between cultural attractions and identifies tourists’ preferences.
Design/methodology/approach
Content analysis and principal component analysis are applied to 12.592 online reviews, in Italian, posted on TripAdvisor by tourists who visited 58 cultural attractions of Naples (Italy) between 2011 and 2014.
Findings
Findings reveal five critical components of tourists’ experience related to cultural attractions: wonder, authenticity, relaxation, discovery and knowledge. Findings show that tourists can interpret cultural attractions in different ways.
Research limitations/implications
This study makes advancements on the relationships between tourists’ experience and cultural attractions. Research limitations are related to the geographical context and to the database, which presents a strong standardisation of evaluations, almost never negative. Furthermore, the analysis is limited to online reviews written in Italian language. Future studies will be dedicated to explore reviews in other languages and on other cultural destinations.
Practical implications
The study draws managerial implications at local and general level. Locally, findings provide suggestions and practical implications to support the tourism policies and marketing of Naples. At general level, the paper provides implications for destination manager organisations and policy makers to strengthen the attractiveness of cultural attractions, develop destination marketing strategies and offer more satisfying cultural experiences.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies that uses online reviews to explore the experiences of tourists who visit cultural attractions.