Ghulam Ali Arain

Nonlinear Moderating Effect of Tenure on Organizational Identification (OID) and the Subsequent Role of OID in Fostering Readiness for Change

This empirical study investigates the curvilinear moderating effects of organizational tenure on the relationships between two status evaluations, that is, perceived external prestige (PEP) and perceived internal respect (PIR), and organizational identification (OID). This study validated the components of group engagement model in South Asian context, which highlighted the significant difference in the effects of status evaluations on OID. The importance of OID in the development of employee’s readiness for change is also explored and tested. Survey method was used for collection of data from Pakistan. The results supported all the hypothesized relationships. This is one of the few studies which have explored the potential effects of organizational tenure on identification process, and tested the relationship between OID and readiness for change.

A study of employee affective organisational commitment and retention in Pakistan: the roles of psychological contract breach and norms of reciprocity

Abstract Social exchange theory and notions of reciprocity have long been assumed to explain the relationship between psychological contract breach and important employee outcomes. To date, however, there has been no explicit testing of these assumptions. This research, therefore, explores the mediating role of negative, generalized, and balanced reciprocity, in the relationships between psychological contract breach and employees’ affective organizational commitment and turnover intentions. A survey of 247 Pakistani employees of a large public university was analyzed using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping techniques, and provided excellent support for our model. As predicted, psychological contract breach was positively related to negative reciprocity norms and negatively related to generalized and balanced reciprocity norms. Negative and generalized (but not balanced) reciprocity were negatively and positively (respectively) related to employees’ affective organizational commitment and fully mediated the relationship between psychological contract breach and affective organizational commitment. Moreover, affective organizational commitment fully mediated the relationship between generalized and negative reciprocity and employees’ turnover intentions. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Managing Successful Change Efforts in the Public Sector: An Employee’s Readiness for Change Perspective:

This study brings together public and private sector research on change management to highlight the important role of public servants as recipients of change, which is underemphasized in the public management literature. In doing so, we identify and operationalize factors of managing successful change—involved communication and change recipients’ beliefs. The effect of involved communication on developing employees’ readiness for change is explored. Data were collected from public sector research and development organizations in Pakistan. The results of the structural equation modeling support the positive role of involved communication in developing employees’ readiness for change. Employees’ organizational identification and change recipients’ beliefs also exhibit a significant mediating role in the above-stated relationship. This study significantly contributes to the existing literature of change management in the public sector by focusing on employees as key players in an organization’s change process. Practical implications and future research directions are also discussed.

Power, moral clarity and punishment severity: a moderated-mediation model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the mediating role of “moral clarity” and the moderating role of “hypocrisy” in the relationship between sense of power and punishment severity. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected using purposive sampling from 250 government officials serving at a responsible and authoritative position in different public sector organizations operating in Pakistan. Findings The study has found a significant indirect effect of sense of power on punishment severity through moral clarity. This study has also found that this indirect effect is significant at higher levels of hypocrisy but insignificant at lower or moderate level of hypocrisy. Practical implications The study offers serious practical implications by highlighting the role of hypocrisy in powerful individuals’ moral judgements and their decisions to exercise power and administer punishments. Originality/value The study is the first to develop and test a mediated-moderation model of the relationship between sense of power, moral clarity, hypocrisy and punishment severity.