Hassan Abu Bakar

Mediating Role of Supervisory Communication Practices on Relations Between Leader–Member Exchange and Perceived Employee Commitment to Workgroup

Based on a study on employees and their immediate manager in a Malaysian organization, we examine the total, direct, and indirect effects of supervisory communication practices with LMX and group commitment using structural equation modeling and bootstrap procedure. Based on our analysis, we found that within the group where the supervisor and subordinates are embedded, positive relationships communication, upward openness communication, and job-relevant communication partially mediated the relation between LMX and group commitment. The consequences of these findings are discussed and elaborated in this article.

The Mediating Role of Perceived Cooperative Communication in the Relationship between Interpersonal Exchange Relationships and Perceived Group Cohesion

This study develops a multilevel model to advance research on interpersonal exchange relationships among supervisors, subordinates, and coworkers by integrating leader–member exchange (LMX), team–member exchange (TMX), and perceived cooperative communication. The model was tested by using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) with data obtained from a sample of 375 manager–employee dyads working in 48 groups in Malaysia. At the individual level, LMX was found to be related to TMX; at the team-level, the relationship between the LMX-perceived cohesion link and the TMX-perceived cohesion link was mediated by perceived cooperative communication. These findings validated the proposed model and, in particular, empirically confirmed the central role of communication in LMX processes in workgroups. Practical implications are discussed.

LMX quality, supervisory communication and team‐oriented commitment: A multilevel analysis approach

Purpose – Researches have documented the impact of dyadic communication and relationships on individual behavior in workgroups. However, communication remains as the background element in leadership and management literature as opposed to being the primary process in the leader‐member relationships development. The purpose of this paper is to establish and interpret the appropriate level of analysis based on the correlation between leader‐member exchange (LMX) quality, supervisory communication and team‐oriented commitment in a Malaysian organization setting.Design/methodology/approach – A survey from a Malaysian organization (n=201) is analyzed on the relationships between LMX quality, supervisory communication and commitment using within and between analysis (WABA).Findings – The individual dyad relationships and communication correlates with team‐oriented commitment at the group level. Therefore, LMX quality and supervisory communication influence overall team‐oriented commitment in a work group.Resear...

Organizational communication in Malaysia organizations: Incorporating cultural values in communication scale

Purpose – Research on organizational communication has shown significant associations with many important outcomes. Although these researches are appealing, there have been criticisms and suggestions for improvement of the organizational communication scales, developed in Western organization settings, to make them applicable to collectivist culture‐based organizations. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to access the organizational communication construct through the development and validation of an organizational communication measure for Malaysian organizations.Design/methodology/approach – Item analysis for Malaysian organizational communication scale involves survey of 250 university employees, followed by construct and criterion‐related validation using 346 employees, representing three organizations in Malaysia, resulting in a Malaysian organizational communication scale.Findings – Through the validation of a Malaysian organizational communication measure, support was found for the proposition...

The Mediating Effect of Leader–Member Dyadic Communication Style Agreement on the Relationship Between Servant Leadership and Group-Level Organizational Citizenship Behavior

This research examines how dyadic communication agreement in the workplace may operate at the dyadic-within group level as a process variable that mediates the relationship between servant leadership and group organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). In doing so, we propose a model of leader–member dyadic communication whereby communication style agreement mediates the relationships between servant leadership and group-level OCB in work groups. The model is tested by using hierarchical linear modeling with data obtained from a sample of 510 employees and 59 work groups in three Malaysian organizations. Results show that servant leadership is related to leader–member dyadic communication style agreement in the workplace at the individual level and that the servant leadership–group-level OCB link is partially mediated by leader–member dyadic communication style agreement in the workplace. These findings partially validate our proposed model and provide empirical support for the central roles of communication exchange processes in work groups.

The Mediating Role of Charismatic Leadership Communication in a Crisis: A Malaysian Example:

This study develops a model to advance research on public organization reputation by integrating crisis responsibility with charismatic leadership communication. Based on situational crisis communication theory, the model was tested using structural equation modeling with data obtained from a sample of 383 employees of public organizations in Malaysia. The mediation model indicated that the dynamic mechanism of charismatic leadership communication partially mediated the relationship between crisis responsibility and perceived organizational reputation during a crisis. These findings validated the proposed model and, in particular, confirmed empirically the central role of charismatic leadership communication processes in organization. This study provides insights into the role of charismatic leadership communication in the organizational reputation processes. The model established can serve as an instructive guide for both organization and corporate leaders in managing a crisis and reputation. A practical implication of the findings is that, during a crisis, a crisis leader should engage in charismatic leadership communication effectively to mitigate the crisis impact and strengthen organizational reputation. More important, the findings indicate that charismatic leadership communication contributed to organizational reputation explicitly brought charismatic leadership communication to the forefront of organizational reputation management.

Superior–Subordinate Communication Dimensions and Working Relationship: Gender Preferences in a Malaysian Organization

This paper attempts to investigate the Western proposition on the communication preferences of male and female employees in a Malaysian organization. Based on the literature, Western scholars suggest that male employees prefer working communication with their superior that will allow them to accomplish their jobs. On the other hand, female employees prefer relationship communication with their superior in order to maintain and develop their relationship with their superior. Our findings show the combinations of working and relationship communication emerging from Malaysian male and female respondents. The consequences of these findings are discussed and elaborated.

Measuring Communication Styles in the Malaysian Workplace: Instrument Development and Validation

The aim of the present study is to access communication style in the Malaysian workplace through the development and validation of a communication scale appropriate to the Malaysian workplace. The analysis involved data from 200 state development employees, and construct and criterion-related validation using data from 510 employees, representing three organizations in Malaysia. The results provided support for the use of language (pekerti) and communication and interaction (bicara) as crucial communication dimensions for the Malaysian workplace, which are identified from the item-generation procedure.

Relationships between Supervisory Communication and Commitment to Workgroup: A Multilevel Analysis Approach

The aim of the present study is to establish and interpret the appropriate level of analysis for the correlation between supervisory communication and commitment to workgroup. We intend to examine whether specific forms of correlations between supervisory communication and commitment to workgroup could be distinguished from each other at the individual or higher level of analysis. We present results from an individual, dyadic and group sample taken from a Malaysian organization. We relate the measures of supervisory communication and commitment to workgroup from individuals embedded in a specific workgroup to reflect individual communication with their immediate supervisor as possible antecedents for commitment to their workgroup. To examine this relationship, we follow Within and Between Analysis (WABA) statistical procedures proposed by Dansereau, Alutto, and Yammarino (1984). This procedure involves: (a) testing the total deviation scores for each variable presented within cell, or between cell scores known as WABA I; (b) testing the level of analysis that may underlie relationships among all variables taken two at a time, known as WABA II, and (c) testing the total correlation and component analysis through the combination of WABA I and WABA II. We find that the relationships between supervisory communication and commitment to workgroup are relevant for the whole group. The correlations between these two variables are interpreted as group differences where the individuals in a group are viewed as homogenized, and each workgroup is assigned one score on each variable. Implications of these findings are discussed.

An Examination of Leader-Member Dyadic Politeness of Exchange and Servant Leadership on Group Member Performance:

Integrating conversational constraint theory and models of homophily and relational dyadic communication, this study investigates how leader-member politeness exchange and servant leadership influence group member performance in a Malaysian organizational context. Using hierarchical linear modeling with data obtained from a sample of 510 employees, 65 workgroups, and 3 organizations, a politeness of exchange-servant leadership model was tested. Results show that servant leadership was positively and significantly associated with workgroup manager’s ratings of group member’s performance. The positive association between servant leadership and group member performance is more pronounced when managers and members in workgroups are high in politeness of exchange in their interactions. As predicted, leader-member dyadic politeness of exchange within the workgroup manager-group member dyads moderated this positive association.