Purpose Drawing on self evaluation maintenance theory, this research aims to examine how and when managers may engage in cover-up behavior directed at subordinates. Design/methodology/approach Two multi-wave studies were conducted with samples of middle managers. A latent moderated structural equation model was used to test the theoretical model. Findings The results show that when managers perceive themselves as having lower status, they are more likely to experience lower self-esteem, which in turn motivates them to cover up their subordinates' wrongdoing. Moreover, the indirect effect of perceived low status on cover-ups is stronger when managers have high leader-member exchange (LMX) with their superiors. Originality/value This research advances theory on cover-up behavior, previously focused on its consequences, by theorizing and testing a model that uncovers its underlying psychological drivers. The moderating role of LMX also highlights the relational complexity inherent in middle management, as they often navigate relationships upward with superiors and downward with subordinates within the organizational hierarchy.
Purpose To provide a comprehensive investigation into the relationship of cultural intelligence (CQ) with job performance using primary data. Of special interest were the interactions between meta-cognitive CQ (MCQ) with the other three facets of CQ. Design/methodology/approach Participants were 182 expatriates working in Abu Dhabi. Their line managers evaluated them on the measures of job performance: Organizational citizenship behaviour-Help (OCB-H), OCB-Change (OCB-C) and task performance. Findings All testing took place with Emotional Intelligence as a control. Most interactions of MCQ with cognitive CQ (CCQ × MCQ), motivational CQ (MCQ × MoCQ) and behavioural CQ (BCQ × MCQ) were related to the measures of job performance. However, interaction patterns were more nuanced than expected. For example, lower motivational CQ was associated with higher OCB-H and task performance when MCQ was weak. Global CQ was related to all performance measures, but the relationships of the four facets of CQ differed across measures, with cognitive CQ showing the greatest consistency. Finally, global CQ was more strongly related to OCB-H and OCB-C than to task performance, with the results for CQ facets demonstrating the same tendency. Practical implications Higher scores on all facets of CQ may not always be advantageous for job performance in highly culturally diverse environments. Originality/value The first study with specifically collected data to test the interactions between CQ facets, providing evidence for their interplay. The study adds to evidence on how cultural intelligence relates to job performance, along with its nomological validity.
Purpose Neurodivergent employees present unique and valuable abilities and skills for organizations, such as creative and innovative thinking. However, they still face barriers and considerable stigma in the workplace, which are associated with higher rates of unemployment and turnover as compared to their neurotypical peers. This study focuses on attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a neurodivergent condition that presents specific professional challenges but also drives significant strengths when appropriately recognized and valued. In particular, it examines neurodivergent employees' lived experiences of workplace relationships and investigates how these relationships facilitate or hinder their ability to thrive at work. Design/methodology/approach Using the social cognitive theory (SCT) as a theoretical framework and rooting our study in the diversity management literature, we investigate ADHDers' everyday working lives by focusing on how they experience work relationships with internal and external stakeholders. We adopt an interpretive qualitative approach based on in-depth interviews with a purposeful sample of diagnosed ADHDers recruited from private psychotherapy practices in Italy. Findings The results of the thematic analysis highlight the emergence of four major themes: i.e. (1) need for flexibility, (2) supportiveness of informal/friendly work relationships, (3) unsupportiveness of formal/rigid work relationships and (4) relational leadership style. Research limitations/implications Our findings contribute to the diversity management literature in the underinvestigated research stream of neurodiversity. Practical implications The emerging findings offer insightful suggestions to managers and organizations for recognizing and valuing neurodivergent employees, and to potentially contribute to broader societal change. Social implications By deepening understanding of ADHD employees' lived experiences, the findings of this study aim to reduce workplace stigma and contribute to positive societal change. Originality/value Addressing an understudied aspect of ADHD at work, this study examines how work relationships (i.e., socio-structural factors) enhance or hinder self-efficacy and goal attainment.
Purpose This article explores how both organizations and “talents” (talented employees) are responding to the adaptation of artificial intelligence (AI). Design/methodology/approach We follow a phenomenon-based approach to describe the key trends and challenges influenced by the new work arrangements and seek to address the who, how, where and why issues. Specifically, we discuss the impact of organizations' digital transformation on talent identification, and show how these changes configure new management challenges from a talent management (TM) perspective. Findings Our research highlights how AI is impacting people and organizations everywhere as the technology continues to advance, whereas the introduction of AI in the workplace is fundamentally changing existing work arrangements. Originality/value Our article examines how the TM agenda evolves as organizations adopt AI and highlights the role that employees play in the implementation of AI in the workplace–new developments that are recently neglected in the literature. The article highlights that the integration of AI is revolutionizing TM by improving the methods used to identify, develop and retain talent and highlights the role of TM in pioneering managerial responses to AI integration to maximize organizational effectiveness. The article enriches the literature by adding new research perspectives which enhance our understanding of how AI is reshaping TM agenda.
Purpose This study examines the relationships between workplace gender composition (measured by female ratio and gender equivalency) and prejudice towards various groups (i.e. women, gay/lesbian individuals, different racial/ethnic groups and the poor). Design/methodology/approach Data from 12,742 workers across 27 European countries were analyzed using two-level linear mixed-effects models with workers nested within countries. Findings Workplaces with a higher female ratio or greater gender balance are associated with lower prejudice among individuals. Although prejudice decreased with greater female representation, the effect was strongest when the workplace approached gender equivalency rather than when women formed a large majority. Notably, this prejudice-reducing effect of gender composition was primarily evident among male workers. Originality/value This research demonstrates that workplace gender composition can also impact societal outcomes, suggesting a need for future studies to investigate its effects beyond workplace gender equity and business success.
Purpose Rater training is important for improving the quality of performance measurement and management. However, relatively little research has examined the influence of trainee characteristics on rater training motivation and rater training effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in training motivation theory, we developed and tested an integrative model of rater training motivation and rater training effectiveness across two studies. Study 1 examined relationships among learning goal orientation, internal locus of control, promotion focus, general self-efficacy and rater training motivation. Study 2 extended this model by examining relationships between these individual differences and multiple FOR training outcomes, including declarative knowledge, correlational accuracy and Cronbach's (1955) rating accuracy indices. Supplemental analyses also compared trained participants to an untrained control sample using the same FOR training materials and rating tasks. Findings Results indicated that learning goal orientation, internal locus of control, promotion focus, and cognitive ability influenced rater training motivation through general self-efficacy. Rater training motivation did not predict declarative knowledge, correlational accuracy or the Cronbach rating accuracy indices, whereas cognitive ability demonstrated the most consistent relationships with cognitively demanding FOR training outcomes, particularly correlational accuracy and stereotype accuracy. Supplemental analyses further supported the effectiveness of the FOR intervention across multiple dimensions of rating accuracy. Collectively, the findings suggest that although trainee dispositions are relevant to understanding rater training motivation, cognitive ability may be more important for understanding performance on cognitively demanding FOR training outcomes. Originality/value This work offers a novel examination of how individual differences influence both motivation and effectiveness in rater training by: (1) highlighting the overlooked role of training motivation in rater training research, (2) examining multiple dimensions of rating accuracy within a FOR training framework and (3) investigating the role of cognitive ability in FOR training outcomes.
Purpose Drawing upon information and decision-making theory, this study investigates the relationship between team knowledge heterogeneity and multilevel innovation performance. It also explores the mediating effects of team knowledge sharing and individual perspective taking, as well as the moderating effect of inclusive climate. Design/methodology/approach Using a time-lagged, paired sample of 456 employees and 93 leaders from Chinese organizations, a multilevel model was developed to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings The findings indicate that, at the team level, team knowledge heterogeneity stimulates knowledge sharing, which then promotes team innovation performance. In addition, inclusive climate positively moderates this relationship. At the individual level, team knowledge heterogeneity stimulates employee innovation performance through perspective taking. Originality/value This study extends the limited literature on team knowledge heterogeneity by integrating a multilevel model linking it to innovation performance. In addition, we highlight the roles of three pertinent aspects: knowledge sharing, perspective taking and inclusive climate.
Purpose This study explores how newcomers respond to abusive supervision (AS) during the early stages of organisational socialisation. Although previous research has shown negative consequences of AS, a limited qualitative understanding exists regarding how repeated experiences during this formative phase influence newcomers' interpretations and modes of inhabiting work relationships. Design/methodology/approach The study involves 61 semi-structured life-world interviews with nursing students and newly employed nurses in healthcare organisations. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic coding, combining dramaturgical, affective and value coding to reconstruct negative socialisation events and examine newcomers' relational interpretations. Findings The analysis identifies two themes, “Self-suppressive facades” and “The organisation doesn't deserve me,” capturing differences in newcomers' relational interpretations during early socialisation. Experiences of AS lead to self-suppressive facades aimed at maintaining the hope of future resonance. Repeated experiences diminish this hope, resulting in resignation, instrumental endurance and relational withdrawal. Alienation emerges as a way of inhabiting the relationship, shaped by interpreted relational detachment and blocked possibilities of voice, responsiveness and transformation. Originality/value This study advances research on AS and organisational socialisation by offering a qualitative, process-oriented account of how newcomers' responses unfold as relational interpretations. Drawing on the resonance theory, it develops a sociological and relational model of how experiences of AS alter newcomers’ expectations of relational quality, with implications for HRM practices in onboarding, mentoring and sustainable work communities.
Purpose Expressing gratitude is a common organizational practice through which leaders publicly acknowledge employees' contributions. Prior research has mostly focused on its positive effects, particularly how witnessing such expressions strengthens observers' relational bonds and prosocial behavior. Yet, existing studies have overlooked the possibility that coworker-targeted leader gratitude expressions can threaten witnesses' sense of self-completeness and trigger negative responses. Drawing on symbolic self-completion theory, this study examines how such an expression elicits witnesses' relative deprivation. We further investigate how this reaction leads to self-symbolizing behaviors and how the boundary condition may mitigate these effects. Design/methodology/approach We tested the model in two studies: a 3-wave multisource survey (N = 320) and a scenario-based experiment (N = 246). Analyses included path analysis and a Johnson–Neyman plot with bootstrapped tests of conditional indirect effects. Findings Coworker-targeted leader gratitude expression was positively related to witnesses' relative deprivation, which predicted greater expediency and self-promotion. Mediation analyses confirmed that relative deprivation transmitted this effect to both outcomes. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that the indirect effect was weaker at higher levels of leader–member exchange (LMX). Originality/value This study identifies the negative witness effects of observing leaders' gratitude toward coworkers by showing that such expressions can threaten witnesses' self-completeness. It uncovers a compensatory process in which witnesses engage in expediency and self-promotion to restore self-completeness. It also identifies LMX as a key boundary condition that mitigates these indirect effects.
Purpose Resilience is crucial in helping employees face and surmount challenging disruptions in crisis times such as storm crisis. Nonetheless, how well-being-oriented crisis leadership shapes resilience among hospitality employees in such hard times is not fully decoded. Informed by the conservation of resources theory, this inquiry aims to decipher how (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression as mediating mechanisms) and under what conditions (social network support as a moderating mechanism) well-being-oriented crisis leadership activates hospitality employees' resilience. Design/methodology/approach Participants were employees working in hotels operating in a city in the face of recurring storms in Vietnam. This study adopted a purposive sampling approach, through which a survey link was sent to the employees in such a context, and 371 responses were collected. The dataset was analyzed through structural equation modeling. Findings Cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression serve as a dual mediating pathway between well-being-oriented crisis leadership and resilience. Perceived quality of social network support strengthened the effects of well-being-oriented crisis leadership on both emotion regulation strategies. Originality/value The findings extend the employee resilience literature by validating novel mechanisms underlying well-being-oriented crisis leadership and employee resilience, as well as offer hospitality practitioners strategic guidelines in boosting employee resilience to cope with crisis times.
Purpose This study examines the relationship between knowledge-sharing networks and employees’ retention intentions, emphasizing psychological safety as a mediator and professional isolation and informal collaboration as moderators. Utilizing a relational-perceptual framework along with a time-lagged methodology, this study emphasizes the exploration of associative processes rather than establishing definitive causal relationships. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 400 professionals in the IT and IT-enabled services sectors across India. The study aimed to validate a moderated mediation model using 20,000 bootstrap resamples, enabling thorough analyses of conditional and indirect effects using Hayes’ PROCESS macro and structural equation modeling. Findings The findings suggest that a knowledge-sharing network is positively associated with employees’ intention through psychological safety. Professional isolation weakens this association, while informal collaboration strengthens it. These results emphasize the importance of workplace relationships in influencing employee retention. Research limitations/implications This study relies on self-reported data and employs a cross-sectional design, limiting the ability to infer causal relationships. Therefore, it is imperative that future research explores longitudinal studies and multi-source methodologies across diverse business and cultural contexts to enhance understanding in this area. Originality/value This study presents novel perspectives on the social and emotional foundations of knowledge management in the IT and ITES sectors by proposing an innovative relational-affective framework that links knowledge networks to knowledge retention. This research enhances our understanding of knowledge-sharing processes by clarifying the relational and psychological mechanisms involved, all within defined methodological constraints. It goes beyond simple model extensions to provide a comprehensive, process-oriented explanation of knowledge-sharing dynamics.
Purpose This viewpoint article examines how organisations can better support neurodivergent employees. It identifies key barriers and facilitators to fair work and clarifies how leaders, HR professionals and line managers can enhance inclusion by recognising neurodiversity as natural form of human variation rather than a deficit. Design/methodology/approach The article integrates the author's organisational experience with contemporary scholarship on neurodiversity, HRM and organisational culture. It adopts a reflective, interpretive approach typical of viewpoint papers, privileging lived experience and practice-based evidence over hypothesis testing. Findings Systemic barriers such as inconsistent accommodations, inflexible working, disclosure stigma, biased recruitment and progression, generic training and resistance to change continue to disadvantage neurodivergent employees, whereas fair work is enabled by clear and compassionate communication, psychological safety, relational HR practices, neuroinclusive smart working, person-centred training and accountable leadership underpinned by neuroinclusive governance. Research limitations/implications The article synthesises existing research and lived-experience studies rather than reporting new empirical data. It identifies under-explored areas and proposes directions for longitudinal, intersectional and practice-oriented research. Practical implications Specific recommendations are offered for redesigning recruitment, performance management, accommodation processes, HR practices, smart working arrangements and cultural norms to support fair work practices for neurodivergent employees. Social implications The article highlights how entrenched neurotypical norms reproduce wider labour-market inequalities for neurodivergent people and positions neuroinclusive HRM as a matter of social justice as well as organisational performance. Originality/value By bringing together emotional labour, intersectionality and organisational readiness, the article offers a systems-oriented, relational account of neuroinclusion that moves beyond one-off awareness narratives.
PurposeThis study aims to systematically map the intellectual, social and thematic structure of workplace bullying research over the past five decades, providing a consolidated overview of its theoretical foundations, collaborative structures and key research domains. Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive bibliometric analysis was conducted on 3,359 peer-reviewed journal articles and review papers indexed in Scopus from 1975 to 2024. The study integrates performance analysis with science-mapping techniques, including co-citation analysis, co-authorship network analysis and keyword co-occurrence analysis. FindingsThe results reveal sustained growth in workplace bullying scholarship, shaped by influential contributions on abusive supervision, workplace aggression and incivility. Co-citation analysis identifies four interconnected knowledge domains: conceptual foundations of workplace bullying and aggression; leadership-driven mistreatment and abusive supervision; bullying prevalence, antecedents and consequences and workplace incivility with methodological foundations. Co-authorship networks display a core-periphery structure dominated by the United States, United Kingdom, China and Europe, with increasing participation from Asia, Latin America and Africa, indicating expanding international collaboration. Keyword co-occurrence patterns highlight strong thematic linkages around leadership, employee well-being and organizational support, reflecting the field's integrative and multi-level orientation. Originality/valueThis study offers one of the most comprehensive bibliometric syntheses of workplace bullying research to date by jointly examining its intellectual, social and conceptual structures within a unified framework. By clarifying conceptual intersections and identifying underexplored areas, the study provides a theoretically informed roadmap for future research and supports the development of evidence-based interventions aimed at fostering psychologically safe and equitable workplaces.
Purpose The purpose of this Special Issue on HRM in Action: Impact Case Studies is to contribute to discussion on impact through the practical implications of HRM research. Through this Special Issue we aim to foster a Community of Practice among HRM scholars committed to demonstrating the value and benefit of their research in addressing real-world problems. Design/methodology/approach In this Editorial first, we ask what is impact and why is it important to explore? Second, we focus on problem, phenomena, practice focused research and explore how these different approaches can help us understand impact in HRM research. Third, we outline how we developed this Special Issue, the questions we asked our contributors to address and why we asked them, followed by a brief introduction to the seven cases curated for this Special Issue. Finally, we identify key issues and challenges emerging from the cases and outline areas for further development and future research. Findings Impact case studies offer valuable guidance to HRM scholars seeking to make their research more actionable and socially meaningful. They provide models for how to engage with partners, design research and interventions and measure change. More importantly, they challenge us to rethink the role of HRM research – not just as a tool for understanding organisations, but as a catalyst for improving them. By explicitly addressing problematisation, theory, approach, impact and contributions, these studies offer a structured pathway for scholars to demonstrate the transformative potential of HRM research. Originality/value HRM’s future depends on its ability to address global disruptions while preserving its human-centred core. Impact case studies offer a powerful mechanism for doing so by demonstrating how HRM research can support organisations navigating technological change, demographic shifts, sustainability pressures and political contestation.
PurposeThe integration of AI in HRM practices is increasing and will be inevitable in the coming years. The successful implementation of AI-enabled management in organizations requires stakeholders' trust. This systematic literature review identifies factors influencing trust in AI-enabled HRM systems and their consequences across three stages of AI implementation (ex-ante, in-ante, and post-ante). Design/methodology/approachThis study reviews and synthesizes the past literature on AI in HRM to develop a conceptual model. FindingsThis study identifies the factors that enable organizational justice while implementing AI-enabled HRMS. We explain the positive relationship between organizational justice and employees' trust and moderators of this relationship. Further, this study suggests positive and unintended implications (for employees, teams, and organizations) of trust in AI-enabled HRMS. Originality/valueThis paper contributes theoretically to the organizational justice framework by expanding it to the domain of AI-enabled HRMS. This paper examines the gap in understanding trust in AI-enabled HRMS across the adoption process of AI in organizations. We also suggest future research directions. The study also outlines practical and societal implications for the responsible implementation of AI-enabled HRMS and identifies directions for future research.
Purpose Interest in decent work research has been increasing among scholars. However, existing reviews have focused on context specificities such as industries, methods, samples and locations. This study provides holistic and up-to-date insights into emerging decent work themes to advance theory and inform policy. Design/methodology/approach A systematic mixed studies review approach was employed following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to comprehensively review 98 decent work studies published in 40 journals between 2006 and 2024 across 193 countries. Findings The analysis revealed eight core themes: conceptualization of decent work, decent work profiles, decent work antecedents, decent work outcomes, mediators of decent work, moderators of decent work, cross-context decent work conditions and decent work enhancement strategies. Originality/value Unlike existing reviews that have context-specific restrictions such as industries, methods, samples and locations, which may fail to capture the broader scope of the decent work literature, this review provides methodologically inclusive, contextually diverse and multi-level evidence syntheses of the decent work literature.
Purpose Work values reflect what employees consider important in their jobs, shaping their attitudes and decisions at work. Value congruence, defined as the fit between how important employees perceive specific work values and the extent to which they perceive their organization delivers on them, relates to positive outcomes such as satisfaction and commitment, whereas incongruence can lead to disengagement and higher turnover intentions. This paper investigates the associations between work value (in)congruence and work engagement and turnover intentions, distinguishing under-congruence (when organizational deliveries fall short of employees' perceived importance of work values) and over-congruence (when deliveries exceed it). Furthermore, drawing on socioemotional selectivity theory, we examine how employees' responses to work value congruence and incongruence vary by age. Design/methodology/approach Using survey data from 1,308 Turkish employees, we assess the relationship between value (in)congruence and the outcome variables using polynomial regression and response surface analysis. Findings Results show that value congruence and incongruence do not operate as simple opposites and that both the degree and direction of value discrepancies matter for engagement and turnover intentions. Age further differentiated these patterns, with younger and older employees responding differently to (in)congruence across value domains. Originality/value We advance the literature by distinguishing under- and over-congruence, demonstrating their asymmetric associations with employee outcomes, highlighting age-related differences in responses to value (in)congruence and emphasizing the domain-specific nature of congruence processes.
Purpose The Islamic work ethic (IWE) literature has expanded across geographies and disciplines but remains fragmented on three fronts, which are (1) conceptual boundaries, (2) operationalization and (3) empirical dispersion. We, therefore, conduct a systematic review to clarify IWE's conceptual core, assess its measurement architecture and synthesize its empirical nomological network. Design/methodology/approach To achieve this objective, we conducted a systematic search on Scopus and the Web of Science, applying a rigorous selection process that yielded 122 articles published between 1988 and 2024. Findings The systematic review was conducted in three aspects covering (1) conceptualization of IWE, (2) measurement and (3) empirical applications. The conceptualization clarifies its moral architecture, boundary distinctions and scope conditions. The measurement theme reviews dominant unidimensional scales alongside emerging multidimensional instruments. The empirical applications bring together evidence on individual and organizational outcomes, determinants and antecedents and the moderating and mediating roles of IWE across contexts. There are several areas that require future consideration; those have also been critically discussed. Originality/value This review makes a three-part contribution. First, it consolidates the conceptual foundations of IWE by specifying its core tenets, distinguishing it from adjacent constructs and setting scope conditions across person, organization and institution. Second, it reviews measurement approaches, contrasting established unidimensional scales with newer multidimensional instruments. Third, it integrates dispersed empirical evidence on outcomes and determinants and clarifies the roles of IWE as predictor, moderator and mediator across contexts. Collectively, these contributions guide future research agendas.
Purpose COVID-19 profoundly impacted people globally, particularly early-career individuals (ECIs). While previous research has examined changes in work arrangements for non-front-line workers, this study explores the pandemic's influence on career parameters within the early career stage. The persistent effects of the pandemic emphasise the need for HR professionals to comprehend evolving career perspectives and their consequences for individual careers and the labour market. Design/methodology/approach Employing the Kaleidoscope Career Model, this research examines the responses of 150 ECIs to a qualitative online survey. Findings Our findings suggest a dual narrative in which positive and negative outcomes are experienced. Participants shed light on how pandemic-induced career shocks, such as job loss and limited opportunities, resulted in reprioritisation of ECIs' career parameters. Originality/value This study responds to calls to develop conceptual clarity of career shocks. It enriches HR knowledge of career development and offers insights for scholars and HR practitioners, responding to labour market transformation.
PurposeDrawing on attribution theory, this research developed a toggled switch model to examine when and how subordinates positively versus negatively respond to their supervisors' upward ingratiation.Design/methodology/approachA multi-method approach, including a scenario-based experiment and a three-wave field survey, was employed to ensure the reliability and validity of the findings.FindingsWhen subordinates attribute supervisors' upward ingratiation to a high-level altruistic motive, they are likely to show gratitude to supervisor, which in turn, leads to increased organizational citizenship behavior toward both the supervisor (OCBI) and the organization (OCBO). Conversely, when subordinates make low-level altruistic motive attribution, they tend to exhibit hostility to the supervisor, which decreases OCBO.Originality/valueThis research addresses an underexplored inquiry, namely subordinates' reactions to their supervisors' upward ingratiation. By investigating subordinates' emotional and behavioral reactions from an attributional perspective, our research expands the scope of ingratiation research and enriches the emerging third-party perspective.
