Jacob Weisberg

Self‐leadership skills and innovative behavior at work

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between self‐leadership skills and innovative behaviors at work. Design/methodology/approach – The studys participants were employees and their supervisors, working in six organizations in Israel. Data were collected through structured surveys administered to the employees and their supervisors. A total of 175 matched questionnaires were returned. Path analysis, using AMOS program, was conducted to assess the research model. Findings – The results indicate that the three‐dimensional scale of self‐leadership skills is positively associated with both self and supervisor ratings of innovative behaviors. The findings also show that income and job tenure are significantly related to innovative behaviors at work. Practical implications – Organizations that seek ways in which to foster innovative behaviors in their employees, need to recognize the importance of building up self‐leaders who can successfully meet the required expectations and standards of innovative behavior. Originality/value – This research suggests ways for organizations to enhance their innovativeness through employees who possess high self‐leadership skills and receive appropriate extrinsic rewards for their leadership skills and innovative behaviors.

Past purchase and intention to purchase in e‐commerce: The mediation of social presence and trust

Purpose – Purchasing on the internet has unique features that make it different from the traditional shopping process, particularly with regard to its social context. This study seeks to investigate the relationship between past online purchases and purchasing intentions, representing the social context by the notions of social presence and trust.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 115 working MBA students purchased an item online (but were stopped at the stage of paying), and then completed a questionnaire on social presence and trust.Findings – The results show that past purchasing predicts intentions to purchase and that trust and social presence act as partial mediators.Practical implications – Social context is important for understanding how past behavior affects future purchasing. Designs should therefore enhance social presence and trust. Moreover, it may be beneficial to monitor these mediators to detect potential problems.Originality/value – The study demonstrates the important role of soc...

Effects of Trainee Characteristics on Training Effectiveness

Six employee characteristics (conscientiousness, self-efficacy, motivation to learn, learning goal orientation, performance goal orientation, instrumentality) and one work environment characteristic (transfer of training climate) were captured for 130 trainees in a large industrial company in an attempt to predict training effectiveness (training grade, supervisor evaluation of the application of training). The results strongly support the predicted links, although not all the predictor variables contributed a statistically significant share of the explained variance of the training outcomes. Motivation to learn and learning goal orientation were found to contribute most to predicting training outcomes. The implications of the results are discussed and the limitations of the study are noted, along with suggested avenues for future research.

Exploring turnover intentions among three professional groups of employees

Abstract Although considerable research effort has been devoted to understanding work attitudes, behaviours and outcomes regarding turnover intentions, little has been done to explore it across different professions. This study takes a step in this direction and examines the effect of affective commitment, job satisfaction and job performance on turnover intentions across three professions. To this end, we surveyed three professional groups of employees and managers: financial officers and social workers employed in the public sector and lawyers employed in the private sector. The results of these three studies show that turnover intentions vary across these professions. Social workers exhibit lower turnover intentions than financial officers and lawyers, who tend to exhibit high turnover intentions. In addition, we found that job satisfaction and affective commitment are negatively associated with turnover intentions, while no significant relationship was found to exist between job performance and turnover intentions. The implications of this study suggest that both researchers and practitioners should take into consideration not only the organizational context, but also the occupational context while exploring the process of voluntary turnover.

Bridging intention and behavior of knowledge sharing

Purpose – This paper seeks to present an innovative scale that sheds light on the ways in which intentions to share explicit and tacit knowledge impact actual knowledge-sharing behavior. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected from a total of 278 hi-tech workers. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the research model. Findings – SEM shows that the intention to share explicit knowledge influences explicit knowledge-sharing behavior to an equal extent both directly and indirectly. By contrast tacit knowledge-sharing behavior is influenced directly to a greater extent by the intention to share tacit knowledge and less indirectly by the intention to share explicit knowledge. Research limitations/implications – The study provides a potential tool that may be applied by managers for the purpose of measuring explicit and tacit knowledge-sharing intention and behavior. Its limitations are due to the limited socio-economic and geographic variability of the companies and people that were studied, which may need further studies to substantiate. Originality/value – Whereas there is a consensus as to the need for and the benefits of sharing knowledge, there are no tools for measuring the roots of sharing behavior. The scale presented here captures the underlying intention, measures it, and assesses the resulting behavior.

Measuring Workers′ Burnout and Intention to Leave

Identifies workers′ burnout as an important factor influencing productivity, commitment, and intentions to leave a job, which disrupt organizational operation and costs. Examines the relationship between the burnout of female school teachers and its effect on their intentions to leave their jobs. Based on a comparative analysis of three measures of burnout, shows two major findings. First, the best burnout predictor of intention to leave a job was obtained when 21 items measuring burnout level were factorily analysed and consolidated into three factors, which were then employed as independent variables in a regression analysis. This was superior to the utilization of the mean score of the 21 items or to a single direct measure. Explained variances were 66.5 per cent, 55.7 per cent, and 44.5 per cent, respectively. Second, a more detailed identification of types of burnout obtained by the first method showed that physical and mental burnout components are significant in explaining workers′ intention to lea...

The relationship between emotional intelligence and psychological wellbeing

Purpose – Theory suggests that highly emotionally intelligent individuals are likely to experience psychological wellbeing at a higher level than individuals who are low in emotional intelligence. This study aims to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and four aspects of psychological wellbeing (self‐acceptance, life satisfaction, somatic complaints and self‐esteem).Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from employees through two different structured surveys administered at two points in time.Findings – The results of four hierarchical regression models provide, in general, support for the positive association between emotional intelligence and psychological wellbeing components – self‐esteem, life satisfaction, and self‐acceptance. Only marginal significant support was found for the negative relationship between emotional intelligence and somatic complaints.Originality/value – The present study contributes to a growing body of literature seeking to determine the role of em...

Internal vs. External Successions and Their Effect on Firm Performance

An examination of 165 top management successions in U.S. firms during 1989-91 reveals that external successions are more likely in small firms, in firms with poor economic performance, and in firms which offer the successor several top positions (for example, Chairman and CEO). This last finding illustrates that successors interests and demands (such as organizational power) are also important in determining the final match between manager and firm. We also find that, on average, the postsuccession performance of external successors is superior to that of internal successors. This could indicate that the Board of Directors faces an agency problem, leading it to appoint too often from inside.

Employee turnover intentions

Most empirical studies testing models of turnover intentions have relied on samples of specific organizations or occupational groups, raising reservations as to the generalizability of their results for broader and more comprehensive populations. To begin to fill this gap, a nearly national sample of employed urban males was utilized and sub–populations were examined in terms of their turnover intentions. A set of biodemographic, organizational, perceptional and job satisfaction variables were incorporated into a multivariate analysis to determine factors best explaining turnover intent. At a second stage, the overall measure of job satisfaction was substituted by four component factors: intrinsic, extrinsic, hygienic and social, which were obtained by a factor analysis of thirteen job satisfaction items. The results of the bivariate and multivariate analysis strongly suggest that specific case findings are congruent with this studys national level of turnover intent. Older age, longer periods of service...

The transformation in human resource management in Israel

The transition from a Socialist approach to a free market approach and the rise of a new high‐tech sector are two remarkable shifts that have occurred in the last two decades in Israel. In the face of these changes, human resource (HR) practitioners are currently expected to assume new roles, adopt different work values, and apply appropriate strategies. HR managers in the low‐tech industry still adhere to traditional values and strategies, including a reliance on trade unions and an emphasis on job security and the employees’ years of work experience and seniority as key criteria for promotion. In the emerging high‐tech sector, HR managers have adopted new values and developed new strategies, including human resource management programs, employee empowerment, higher salaries and better benefits, while placing an emphasis on employees’ talents and qualifications.