Assâad El Akremi

A Multilevel Model of Transformational Leadership and Adaptive Performance and the Moderating Role of Climate for Innovation

Using a multilevel framework, we hypothesized that (a) individual perceptions of transformational leadership and (b) team-level transformational leadership climate would be positively related to individual adaptive performance. We also hypothesized that a stronger climate for innovation would enhance the association between transformational leadership and adaptive performance at the individual level. Hierarchical linear modeling conducted on data collected from 120 employees belonging to 35 teams and their managers in an organization operating in the aerospace industry confirmed our predictions. The significance and relevance of these findings for future research on transformational leadership and adaptive performance are discussed.

The human resources contribution to responsible leadership : An exploration of the CSR-HR interface

The purpose of this article is to investigate how Human Resources (HR) contributes to responsible leadership. Although Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices have been embraced by many corporations in recent years, the specific contributions of HR professionals, HR management practices and employees to responsible leadership have been overlooked. Relying on the analysis of interviews with 30 CSR and HR corporate executives from 22 corporations operating in France, we specify the HR contributions to responsible leadership at the functional, practical, and relational levels of analysis. We analyze whether and how HR support employees’ involvement in CSR, and highlight areas of collaboration and tension between HR and CSR functions around emerging practices of responsible leadership. Our findings uncover the multiple yet often implicit roles of HR in responsible leadership as well as the interrelation between functional, practical and relational dimensions of these roles. Finally, this study suggests that the organization of the HR–CSR interface can enable or undermine the HR contributions to responsible leadership and points to underlying cognitive factors that shape the HR–CSR interface.

The role of justice and social exchange relationships in workplace deviance: Test of a mediated model:

Using data collected on two occasions spaced apart by three months (N = 602), we examined the relationships between a) distributive, procedural, informational, and interpersonal justice (measured at Time 1) and b) perceived organizational support (POS), leader—member exchange (LMX), and organization- and supervisor-directed deviance (measured at Time 2). We found that POS fully mediated the relationship of procedural justice but not distributive justice to organization-directed deviance. In addition, LMX fully mediated the relationships of informational justice and interpersonal justice to both supervisor-directed deviance and organization-directed deviance. The implications of these findings for the study of justice and social exchange relationships as predictors of workplace deviance are discussed.

How Do Employees Perceive Corporate Responsibility? Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Corporate Stakeholder Responsibility Scale

Recent research on the microfoundations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has highlighted the need for improved measures to evaluate how stakeholders perceive and subsequently react to CSR initiatives. Drawing on stakeholder theory and data from five samples of employees (N = 3,772), the authors develop and validate a new measure of corporate stakeholder responsibility (CStR), which refers to an organization’s context-specific actions and policies designed to enhance the welfare of various stakeholder groups by accounting for the triple bottom line of economic, social, and environmental performance; it is conceptualized as a superordinate, multidimensional construct. Results from exploratory factor analyses, first- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses, and structural equation modeling provide strong evidence of the convergent, discriminant, incremental, and criterion-related validities of the proposed CStR scale. Two-wave longitudinal studies further extend prior theory by demonstrating that the higher-order CStR construct relates positively and directly to organizational pride and perceived organizational support, as well as positively and indirectly to organizational identification, job satisfaction, and affective commitment, beyond the contribution of overall organizational justice, ethical climate, and prior measures of perceived CSR.

How Organizational Support impacts Affective Commitment and Turnover among Italian Nurses: A Multilevel Mediation Model

This study examines multilevel relationships between perceived organizational support (POS), affective commitment and voluntary turnover among nurses. We explored the mediation role of affective commitment between POS and turnover behavior at both individual and work-unit levels. This cross-level study involved 945 Italian nurses from 60 work units. We hypothesized and showed that collective affective commitment fully mediated the impact of climate for POS on individual and collective turnover among nurses. This study helps explain the variance in turnover among nurses in healthcare organizations by analyzing the influence of unit-level climate on individual behavior. Results stress that social environments within wards are important in explaining the processes by which nurses decide to quit their work unit.

A multi-study investigation of outcomes of franchisees' affective commitment to their franchise organization

Franchisees’ affective organizational commitment refers to the degree to which franchisees experience an emotional attachment to their franchise organization. Using a social exchange theory perspective, this research reports four studies that explore the relationship between franchisees affective commitment and franchisee outcomes. We found that affective commitment to the franchise organization was positively related to franchisee objective performance (Study 1) and intent to acquire additional units (Study 2), and negatively related to franchisee opportunism (Study 3) and intent to leave the franchise organization, particularly when continuance commitment (i.e., commitment based on the cost associated with membership to the franchise) was low (Study 4). The implications of these findings are discussed.

Injustice hurts, literally: The role of sleep and emotional exhaustion in the relationship between organizational justice and musculoskeletal disorders

The physical health consequences of perceived injustice at work are an important yet underexplored area of research. Using the job-stress recovery literature as an overarching framework, we argued that incomplete recovery because of sleep disorders and subsequent emotional exhaustion is a possible underlying mechanism through which organizational justice relates to employee musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Using both self-administered questionnaires and medical examination to assess MSD, we tested our argument in two studies. Based on a randomly selected sample of employees from a variety of organizations, Study 1 found organizational justice to be negatively related to MSD through diminished sleep-related disorders. Using a sample of employees in nursing homes for the elderly, Study 2 extended these results by showing that the organizational justice–MSD relationship is sequentially mediated by sleep disorders and emotional exhaustion.

Analysing moderated mediation effects: Marketing applications

The purpose of this article is to explain and illustrate the methodological approach used to test moderated mediation effects (conditional indirect effects) in marketing. A moderated mediation effect indicates the presence, in a single model, of one or more mediating variables and one or more moderating variables. Having first described the main methodological approaches used to test moderated mediation effects, with an emphasis on their respective advantages and disadvantages, we go on to recommend the method used by Hayes, which we illustrate through several marketing applications. This method makes it possible rigorously and simultaneously to test both mediating and moderating effects. Recommendations are also made to guide marketing researchers in the analysis of moderated mediation.

Examining the frustration-aggression model among Tunisian Blue-Collar Workers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the links between work stressors, perceived stress, emotional exhaustion, and workplace aggression, using the traits of negative affectivity and external locus of control as individual moderators. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using a survey questionnaire among 477 blue-collar workers from a Tunisian manufacturing company. Findings – Results indicate that perceived stress mediates a positive relationship between work stressors (quantitative workload, role ambiguity, and interpersonal conflicts) and emotional exhaustion. Moreover, the relationship between quantitative workload and interpersonal conflicts and perceived stress is stronger among individuals with high levels of negative affectivity. Similarly, the relationship between quantitative workload and perceived stress is stronger at high levels of external locus of control. Finally, emotional exhaustion mediates a positive relationship between perceived stress and interpersonal and organizational aggression. Practical implications – The findings suggest that Tunisian organizations may reduce perceived stress and aggressive behavior among blue-collar workers through reducing quantitative workload, role ambiguity, and interpersonal conflicts. Moreover, specific training programs, job redesign, and formal mentorship that provide employees with improved social skills can also be recommended as soon as early signs of frustration or intentions to misbehave appear. Finally, leadership development practices may help supervisors better manage workplace stressors and reduce the occurrence of workplace aggression. Originality/value – The current study is an initial attempt to look at an integrated model of stress and aggression among blue-collar workers in Tunisia. While some of the findings are consistent with the literature, others might reflect the unique aspects of the Tunisian culture