Mark Loon

Knowledge sharing: influences of trust, commitment and cost

Purpose – This paper’s aim is to examine the influence of perceived cost of sharing knowledge and affective trust in colleagues on the relationship between affective commitment and knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology used was a survey of 496 employees from 15 organizations across ten industries. Findings – Affective trust in colleagues moderates the relationship between affective commitment and knowledge sharing and the relationship between cost of knowledge sharing and knowledge sharing. Research limitations/implications – Future researchers should operationalize the perceived cost of knowledge sharing construct to include other potential group barriers; for instance, politics and organizational barriers, management commitment and lack of trust. Practical implications – The findings of this study suggest that employees who value social relationships and social resources tend to view knowledge as a collectively owned commodity. As such, their knowledge sharing behavior reflects the model of reciprocal social exchanges. Social implications – The results of this study indicate that an organizational culture that encourages affect-based trust between colleagues will facilitate knowledge sharing. Originality/value – The paper bridges the gap between the literature on knowledge sharing, perceived cost of knowledge sharing, affective organizational commitment and trust in a single model.

Job‐demand for learning and job‐related learning: The moderating effect of need for achievement

Purpose – The purpose of the research is to examine whether need for achievement moderates the relationship between job-demand for learning and job-related learning. Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained from 153 participants full-time. The scales for job-demand for learning and job-related learning were developed for this research, whilst the scale for need for achievement was obtained from an external source. Hierarchical regression analysis was used in testing the hypothesized moderating effects. Findings – It was found that need for achievement moderates the relationship between job-demand for learning and job-related learning. Specifically, although job-demand for learning is correlated positively to job-related learning for both the high and the low need for achievement groups, this correlation is stronger amongst the high group. Research limitations/implications – The use of a cross-sectional design in this study prohibits inferences being drawn regarding the causal relationships between job-demand for learning, need for achievement and job-related learning. Practical implications – Job-related learning can be facilitated through increasing the need for achievement by allowing employees to establish their own learning and performance goals rather than by imposing such goals on them. The redesign of jobs to create challenges for employees is an equally important practical consideration. Originality/value – This research provides a succinct view of the relationship between an external factor, job-demand for learning, and an internal motivator, need for achievement. It emphasizes the degree to which organizations can facilitate learning through design of challenging jobs, to the extent of the individuals’ motivation.

Transformational leadership and job‐related learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine specifically the impacts of transformational leadership on job-related learning at the individual level. Design/methodology/approach – Aquestionnaire survey was conducted. The survey questionnaire contained measurements of job-related learning (JRL) and the five dimensions of transformational leadership: idealized influence attributed (IIA), idealized influence behavior (IIB), individualized consideration (CON), inspirational motivation (INSPIRE), intellectual stimulation (INTSTIM). Data were collected from 400 individuals of various organizations on a voluntary and anonymous basis. Findings – The research results showed that the dimensions of IIB and CON were two significant predictors to job-related learning. Research limitations/implications – All of the data collected in the present study are gathered from a single source through a common method (i.e. a Likert-scale questionnaire). Also, the use of a cross-sectional design in the present study restricts inferences being drawn regarding the causal relationships between transformational leadership and job-related learning. Practical implications – It seems that leaders are able to enhance job-related learning among the employees when they recognize the growth needs of their followers and provide them with personal guidance and goal-directed development. The findings imply that if a high learning orientation in an organisation is desired, transformational leadership would be the type of leadership needed in the organization. Originality/value – The present study does provide some evidence that some dimensions of transformational leadership are more influential on job-related learning than the others.

Combinative aspects of leadership style and emotional intelligence

– The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the leader’s emotional intelligence influences the leader’s preferences for different ways of combining leadership behaviors (i.e. combinative aspects of leadership style). , – The authors used a hybrid design to collect the data to avoid common-method biases. The authors described a high-stress workplace in a vignette and asked participants to rank four styles of combining a task-oriented leadership (i.e. Pressure) statement and a socio-emotional leadership (i.e. Support) statement. The authors then asked participants to complete a Likert-scale based questionnaire on emotional intelligence. , – The authors found that leaders who prefer to provide Support immediately before Pressure have higher levels of emotional intelligence than do leaders who prefer the three other combinative styles. Leaders who prefer to provide Pressure and Support separately (i.e. provide Pressure 30 minutes after Support) have the lowest levels of emotional intelligence. , – A key implicit assumption in the work is that leaders do not want to evoke negative emotions in followers. The authors did not take into account factors that influence leadership style which participating managers would be likely to encounter on a daily basis such as the relationship with the follower, the follower’s level of performance and work experience, the gender of the leader and the gender of the follower, the hierarchical levels of the leader and follower, and the followers’ preferred combinative style. The nature of the sample and the use of a hypothetical scenario are other limitations of the study. , – Providing leadership behaviors that are regarded as effective is necessary but not enough because the emotional impact of leadership behaviors appears to also depend on how the behaviors are configured. , – This is the first study to show that the emotional intelligence of leaders is related to their preferences for the manner in which they combine task and social leadership statements. Furthermore, two-factor theories of leadership propose that the effects of task and social leadership are additive. However, the findings show that the effects are interactive.

The Moderating Effects of Emotions on Cognitive Skills

Abstract An important challenge in higher education today is the growing tutor–student ratio that diminishes the ‘human touch’. As learning and teaching ultimately form an interpersonal process, this will lead to student discontent and impact on their learning. Whilst there is little that teaching practitioners can do in terms of the growing student numbers they have to tutor, they may however influence student learning by enhancing their positive emotions. This study examines the importance of emotions in improving cognitive skills and how they interact with knowledge and reflection. This research contributes to theory by examining the role of emotions as a moderating factor in the learning process. Our findings reveal that emotions moderate the direct relationship between knowledge and cognitive skills, and the indirect relationship between knowledge and cognitive skills via reflection. The findings demonstrate the critical role that emotions play in student learning. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

The paradox of employee psychological well-being practices: an integrative literature review and new directions for research

Abstract It is well established that many HR practices aimed at increasing employees’ psychological wellbeing (PWB) and organisational performance conflict and even contradict one another. We address this long-standing issue by undertaking an innovative integrative literature review using the paradox metatheory as a lens. Unlike the contingency approach, a paradox perspective deems real-world tensions as normal, which can also be harnessed, and benefit employees and the organisation. We make three contributions; firstly, we identify contradictory employee PWB and organisational performance HR practices; secondly, we offer a solution in addressing the inherent tension between PWB and organisational performance by developing a new sensemaking conceptual framework; and thirdly, we offer a more nuanced perspective of prevailing arguments by distinguishing endogenous factors that organisations can influence to enhance the synergies between employee PWB and organisational performance HR practices. The intended impact of this paper is to instigate a paradigm shift and shape a new trajectory of thinking about how employee PWB and organisational performance practices can exist side-by-side.

Entrepreneurship education research in Nigeria: current foci and future research agendas

Entrepreneurship education plays a crucial role in the development of entrepreneurs and the enhancement of entrepreneurial activities in every economy. This paper presents the findings of a review of Nigerian entrepreneurship education literature published in 20 journals over a 16-year period. The purpose of this paper is to examine research contributions in the field of entrepreneurship education within the Nigerian context, with the aim of understanding the focus and the different research areas covered by researchers in this area, and to make suggestions that can guide scholars in their future research contributions.,Systematic literature reviews are recognized methods for conducting evidence-based research. The study adopted a systematic literature review approach, drawing from a computerized search of five selected databases, using predetermined key words by the researchers.,The main finding of this paper is that related concepts like skills, intention, drive and attitude have been used in expounding discussions on the outcome of entrepreneurship education, but very little has been written on entrepreneurial mindset, which other studies have suggested is a crucial point in the journey of an entrepreneur (Reed and Stoltz, 2011; Neneh, 2012). Furthermore, learning and teaching of entrepreneurship in the Nigerian higher education institutions seem to be more focused on creating awareness about entrepreneurship, as against the experiential approach that scholars have argued to be a prerequisite for developing the next generation of entrepreneurs (Bell, 2015). The study also found that over 80 percent of the reviewed articles are published in journals not ranked or indexed in the ABS journal rankings or the Scopus database.,The paper is limited since it is based on a review of literature from a selected range of databases, covering a specific time span. This potentially excludes other studies outside this time span. Scholarship in this area and context will benefit greatly when researchers target, choose and engage the higher ranked and more impactful journals as the outlet for their research outputs.,At a time when efforts are being made to address socioeconomic issues like poverty and unemployment through mainstream training in entrepreneurship education, this paper provides a better understanding of the state of research in this context, by highlighting the potential gaps as to where research investigation is needed for better policy formulation and guiding future research.,There are limited studies that focus on the issue of entrepreneurial mindset in entrepreneurship education in Nigeria. Overall, this paper identifies an important gap in the literature that warrants future research.

Strategic Management Simulation as a Blended Learning Dimension: Campus Based Students’ Perspectives

Although business simulations are widely used in management education, there is no consensus about how to optimise their application. Our research explores the use of business simulations as a dimension of a blended learning pedagogic approach for undergraduate business education. Accepting that few best-practice prescriptive models for the design and implementation of simulations in this context have been presented, and that there is little empirical evidence for the claims made by proponents of such models, we address the lacuna by considering business student perspectives on the use of simulations. We then intersect available data with espoused positive outcomes made by the authors of a prescriptive model. We find the model to be essentially robust and offer evidence to support this position. In so doing we provide one of the few empirically based studies to support claims made by proponents of simulations in business education. The research should prove valuable for those with an academic interest in the use of simulations, either as a blended learning dimension or as a stand-alone business education activity. Further, the findings contribute to the academic debate surrounding the use and efficacy of simulation-based training [SBT] within business and management education.