Marina Astakhova

Servant leadership and perceptions of service quality provided by front-line service workers in hotels in Turkey: Achieving competitive advantage

Purpose – The aim of this article is to examine the relationship of service employees perceptions of servant leadership provided by their supervisors/managers and employee’s reports of service quality provided to clients by their hotels. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 221 frontline employees, a 37 per cent response rate, working in four- and five-star hotels in Cappadocia, Turkey. Previously developed and validated measures of servant leadership (Liden et al., 2008) and service quality (Parasuraman et al., 1988) were used and both were found to be highly reliable in this study. Findings – Respondents were generally young, had relatively short organizational tenure and had high school educations. Respondents having longer organizational tenures and those working in five-star hotels reported lower levels of servant leadership. Longer tenured employees, and males, rated some dimensions of service quality lower as well. Service employees reporting higher levels of servant leadership fr...

Understanding the work passion–performance relationship: The mediating role of organizational identification and moderating role of fit at work

Despite a burgeoning of research that examines work passion, the relationships between harmonious and obsessive work passion and job performance have received insufficient attention. Using data from 233 employee–supervisor dyads from multiple organizations in Russia, this study examines the mediating role of organizational identification and the moderating roles of three different types of fit perceptions on this relationship. Results indicate that organizational identification mediates the effect of harmonious work passion – but not obsessive work passion – on performance. Only two types of fit perceptions – person–organization and demands–abilities – were found to moderate the relationship between work passion and performance. Finally, the results showed that person–organization fit perceptions moderate the indirect effect (through organizational identification) of both types of work passion on performance, whereas needs–supplies fit perceptions only moderate the indirect effect of harmonious work passion on performance. This study contributes to the work passion and fit literatures by empirically addressing the complex relationship between work passion, fit, organization identification and job performance.

A heavy work investment typology: a biopsychosocial framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to apply a biopsychosocial model to develop an integrated typology of heavy work investment (HWI) behaviors. Design/methodology/approach – The paper follows an inductive approach to theory building in which we review relevant constructs, categorize those constructs, and outline the relationships among them. Findings – The paper provides a theoretically grounded typology of HWI that distinguishes three general types of HWI (workaholic HWI, situational HWI, and pseudo HWI) and nine corresponding HWI manifestations. It is suggested that various forms of HWI differ in nature according to the joint interplay of varying strengths of biological, psychological, and social influences. The paper also demonstrates how the typology can be applied to predict unique individual and organizational outcomes associated with each HWI sub-type. Research limitations/implications – The paper offers a unified strong foundation for developing HWI measures. It offers a direction for future r...

Service rewards and prosocial service behaviours among employees in four and five star hotels in Cappadocia.

Considerable research evidence has emerged demonstrating a link between aspects of organizational culture and employee behaviour. The present investigation examined the association of levels of service rewards perceived by service employees working in four- and five-star Turkish hotels to be provided by their organizations, and employees engaging in prosocial service behaviours. Data were collected from 241 employees working in 16 different hotels in Cappadocia, Turkey, using anonymously completed questionnaires, with a 60% response rate. Respondents rated both levels of prosocial service behaviours and levels of service rewards provided to them by their hotels as relatively high. Personal demographic characteristics were weak and inconsistent predictors of both prosocial service behaviours and perceptions of service rewards. Service rewards, controlling for personal demographics, were strong and consistent predictors of the three prosocial service behaviours studied here.

Disentangling passion and engagement: An examination of how and when passionate employees become engaged ones:

While anecdotal industry evidence indicates that passionate workers are engaged workers, research has yet to understand how and when job passion and engagement are related. To answer the how question, we draw from person-environment fit theory to test, and find support for, the mediating roles of perceived demands–abilities (D–A) fit and person–organization (P–O) fit in the relationships between passion and job engagement, and between passion and organizational engagement, respectively. Also, because the obsessive form of passion is contingency-driven, we answer the when question by adopting a target-similarity approach to test the contingent role of multi-foci trust in the obsessive passion-to-engagement relationships. We found that when obsessively passionate workers trust their organization, they report greater levels of organizational engagement (because of increased P–O fit). In contrast, when these workers trust both their co-workers and supervisor simultaneously, they report greater levels of job engagement (because of increased D–A fit).

Sexual Harassment: A Complex Adaptive System Viewpoint

Abstract Despite the tremendous stress on sexual harassment (SH) policy, advances in policy construction, and a substantial body of research, SH remains a persistent presence in the workplace. This study examines SH from a complex adaptive system viewpoint. This adaptive system is modeled using agent-based simulation, where the influence of individual, situational, and organizational characteristics on SH can be studied. Our model accommodates the adjustment of each of these characteristics to reflect alternate organization environments. As such, the proposed model can be used as an effective tool to determine an organization’s vulnerability to incidents of SH and, consequently, provide recommendations for organization-specific preventive actions. Implications and suggestions for future research and practice are also discussed.

Chameleonic obsessive job passion: demystifying the relationships between obsessive job passion and in-role and extra-role performance

ABSTRACT In seeking to address the theoretical ambiguity regarding how and when obsessive job passion (OJP) leads to work performance, we integrate both self-verification and person–environment (P-E) fit perspectives to propose and test a moderated mediation model linking OJP to performance. We argue that OJP is indirectly related to co-worker-rated in-role and extra-role performance through self-verification, and these indirect links are conditioned by perceived demands–abilities (D-A) fit and needs–supplies (N-S) fit. Results from 190 healthcare professionals and their co-workers collected at three different time periods revealed the contrasting roles played by these two moderators. Individuals with higher OJP self-verify more when they perceive low D-A fit, but self-verify less when they perceive high N-S fit, whereas the opposite holds true for high D-A fit and low N-S fit. Contrary to predictions, negative relationships were found between self-verification and both types of performance. Specifically, OJP is associated with greater in- and extra-role performance (because of reduced self-verification) under high perceived D-A but low N-S fit, whereas the opposite results are observed under low perceived D-A and high N-S fit. The findings underscore the contingent nature of OJP and contribute to job passion, self-concept, and person–environment fit research.

Actual and ideal-self congruence and dual brand passion

The aim of this study is to explore the relationships between actual (ASC) and ideal self-congruence (ISC) and harmonious (HBP) and obsessive brand passion (OBP).,Study 1 uses a sample collected via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to test a baseline conceptual model which links ASC and ISC to HBP and OBP. Study 2 employs a sample outsourced through Qualtrics. Study 2 had dual objectives: to replicate Study 1 using a larger and more diverse sample and to test whether hedonic brand characteristics may affect the hypothesized relationships between two types of self-congruence and two types of brand passion.,The findings suggest that different types of self-congruity influence different types of consumer passion for the brand. Specifically, a fit between brand personality and one’s true self (ASC) helps develop a passion for the brand that is self-affirming and in harmony with other facets of the consumer’s life. Fit between brand personality and one’s ideal self (ISC) leads to OBP. The results suggest that hedonic benefits of a brand do not moderate the relationship between ASC and HBP.,This research examines the duality of brand passion (harmonious and obsessive) and the relationships with consumers’ ASC and ISC. It provides insight into how a product-related context variable (hedonic nature of the product) can moderate these relationships and further augments the nomological network of the dual brand passion concept in the brand consumer context.

Russian workers’ experiences with and perceptions of sexual harassment severity

Abstract As the reach of global business operations increases, cultural context will likely influence the nature and amount of sexual harassment workers experience. Surprisingly, little is known about sexual harassment in Russia, an attractive target for expanding companies. To address this gap in the literature, we examine Russian workers’ perceptions of sexual harassment severity through the lens of cultural context. In particular, we examine the sexual harassment severity perceptions from the perspective of both targets and perpetrators. Results indicate that as targets of sexual harassment, Russian women and men held similar sexual harassment severity perceptions. However, as perpetrators, Russian women reported perceiving the harassment they committed as being less severe than the reports of Russian men. Further, among both targets and perpetrators, Russian women held less permissive sexual attitudes than Russian men, with this difference mediating the relationship between participant sex and perceived sexual harassment severity: women perceived greater severity than men because women hold less permissive sexual attitudes. Implications for research, practice, and the role of national culture in shaping the social construction of sexual harassment are discussed.

Time affluence, material affluence and work experiences of professional women in Russia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of time affluence (TA) and material affluence (MA) in work and extra-work experiences of a sample of professional women working in Russia. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected form 168 women using anonymously completed questionnaires. Measures included personal demographic and work situation characteristics, work outcomes, indicators of work investment and extra-work outcomes. Findings – TA and MA were significantly and positively correlated (r=0.22), with women indicating similar levels of TA and MA. Women reporting higher levels of MA generally indicated more favorable work outcomes (higher job satisfaction, lower intent to quit). Women reporting lower levels of TA generally indicated higher levels of work investment. However, neither TA nor MA predicted family satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – This study highlights the importance to take steps to increase TA and MA of Russian women to positively influence their work...