Purpose The contemporary work landscape necessitates flexibility and the ability to navigate obstacles autonomously, which resonates with the ethos of self-leadership. This research investigates the factors leading to self-leadership and its effects within the boundaries of remote and hybrid work in two distinct cultural contexts. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from India and the Middle East, representing full-time remote work and hybrid work settings. Responses were collected using a Google Forms-based questionnaire, resulting in 241(India) and 152 (Middle East) usable responses. Findings The findings reveal that the structural model explained 37.7 and 50.1% variance in self-leadership and meaningfulness at work for the Indian sample for full-time remote work and hybrid, respectively. The comparable figures for the Middle East were 23% and 29%. The study also examines gender differences in these traits and finds that females demonstrate higher levels of proactive personality than males in both India and the Middle East. Originality/value The study contributes to the growing literature on self-leadership by examining how core self-evaluation and proactive personality relate to self-leadership through the moderating role of psychological safety.
Purpose This study examines the relationship between training transfer climate and training design on transfer of training (TOT). It synthesizes findings from previous empirical studies using a meta-analytic framework. Additionally, subgroup moderation and meta-regression were performed to analyze the plausible reasons for equivocal findings across studies. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a meta-analysis technique to present the findings reported by 51 prior empirical studies on TOT, incorporating bivariate and moderation analyses. Findings The findings reveal that training transfer climate (peer support, supervisory support, organizational support, opportunity to use, and rewards) and training design (transfer design and perceived content validity) positively influence TOT. The study also examined the moderating effects of types of training (hard vs. soft skills), culture (high vs. low power distance and collectivism vs. individualism), and gender (male vs. female). The results show that these moderators explain inconsistent findings in the TOT literature. The study offers insightful recommendations for human resource development managers and practitioners to maximize the likelihood of TOT. Practical implications The study offers insightful recommendations for human resource development managers and practitioners to maximize the likelihood of TOT. Originality/value The study bears significant theoretical contributions by providing generalizable results and shedding light on equivocal findings in the TOT literature.
Purpose This study examines how group-level contextual factors influence middle managers' intentions to involve senior managers in the issue-selling process formally. It focuses on the effects of tenure diversity and interpersonal relationship quality within workgroups. Design/methodology/approach A 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design was conducted with 208 Master of Business Administration (MBA) students who also held managerial roles in practice. The study manipulated tenure diversity and relationship quality and examined their joint effects on the willingness to formally involve senior managers. Findings Results show that strong interpersonal relationships in groups with high tenure diversity reduced managers' willingness to formally involve senior managers. This finding highlights a complex interplay between diversity and relational dynamics in shaping formal issue-selling intentions. Practical implications Organizations should consider both diversity configurations and relational environments when fostering proactive upward communication. Human resources practitioners must actively design structured communication practices to support middle managers. Social implications Strong social ties within diverse teams may encourage reliance on informal networks over formal mechanisms. This dynamic reshapes how strategic issues gain attention within organizational hierarchies. Originality/value This study contributes to the issue-selling and diversity literature. It reveals that strong interpersonal relationships can sometimes hinder formal issue-selling motivations. This challenges assumptions about the universally positive role of relational quality.
Purpose Drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, this research proposed a moderated mediation model to examine the effect of supervisor–subordinate guanxi (SSG) on Chinese employees' voice behavior, with perceived job control as the mediator and subordinate gender as the moderator. Design/methodology/approach Using a time-lagged research design, this study collected two waves of survey data from 312 employees across four companies in the financial services industry. Findings The findings revealed that SSG positively influenced voice behavior. Furthermore, perceived job control, as a job resource, mediated the relationship between SSG and voice behavior. Additionally, subordinate gender moderated both the relationship between SSG and perceived job control, and the indirect effect of SSG on voice behavior through perceived job control. Originality/value This study is the first to apply the JD-R model to explain the impact of supervisor–subordinate relationships on voice behavior and its underlying mechanisms. It extends the JD-R model by innovatively conceptualizing supervisor–subordinate relationships as personal resources.
Purpose The main objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between HCWS and innovative work behavior (IWB). For this purpose, we propose a model that examines the interaction between high-commitment work systems (HCWS) and IWBs, with a particular focus on how ambidextrous learning mediates this relationship. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional, non-experimental study was conducted using data from 188 medium and large firms in Ecuador, selected from a national ranking of top-performing companies. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings Contrary to expectations, the direct effect of HCWS on IWB was not statistically significant. However, ambidextrous learning fully mediated this relationship, indicating that HCWS foster innovative behaviors primarily through the development of both exploitative and explorative learning capabilities. Originality/value This study contributes to the HRM and innovation literature by opening the “black box” linking HCWS to IWB. It identifies ambidextrous learning as the key mediating mechanism through which commitment-oriented HR systems translate into employee innovation. By testing this model in an underrepresented Latin American context and demonstrating the robustness of the findings, the study offers valuable insights for both scholars and practitioners seeking to enhance innovation by designing HR systems that activate ambidextrous learning.
