Neuza Ribeiro

Effects of authentic leadership, affective commitment and job resourcefulness on employees’ creativity and individual performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study examining the relationship between authentic leadership (AL), attitudes and employees’ behaviours. More specifically, how AL influences affective commitment, job resourcefulness and creativity, which, in turn, influence individual performance. Design/methodology/approach Empirical research has analysed the data from a questionnaire administered to a sample of 543 employees belonging to various public and private organisations in Cape Verde. The model was tested using structural equation modelling. Findings The results reveal that AL influences employees’ attitudes (affective commitment and job resourcefulness) and their creativity, affective commitment and job resourcefulness predict the employees’ creativity, and job resourcefulness and creativity predict individual performance. Practical implications The results from this study can help managers to understand how to increase employees’ creativity and performance through AL, affective commitment and job resourcefulness. Indirectly, the study also suggests that organisations should focus on selecting leaders with authentic features and implement appropriate training activities, coaching and development that aim to increase AL since this may well result in a positive impact on employees’ attitudes and behaviours. Originality/value The originality of this study is that it focusses on the integration of the five concepts, AL, affective commitment, job resourcefulness, creativity and individual performance, in a single study, providing a model that depicts the chain of effects between AL, employees’ attitudes, employees’ creativity and individual performance.

Authentic leadership and creativity: the mediating role of happiness

Purpose Authentic leadership (AL) as a style can influence, directly or indirectly, employees’ attitudes and behaviors. In this perspective, the purpose of this study is to investigate how AL predicts affective well-being (AWB) and employees’ creativity. The mediating role of AWB and the moderating role of satisfaction with management will be analyzed. Design/methodology/approach The researchers have analyzed the data from a questionnaire administered to a sample of 543 employees belonging to various public and private organizations in Cape Verde. Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed hypotheses and a multi-group analysis was performed to identify how the level of satisfaction with the management may impact the proposed relationships. Findings The results of this study reveal that perceptions of AL predict employees’ creativity both directly and through the mediating role of AWB. Satisfaction with the management seems to moderate the relationship between AL, AWB and creativity. Practical implications The research outcomes suggest that organizations should focus on training leaders who value self-awareness and transparency in their relationships with others, who display an internal moral perspective and demonstrate balanced processing of information, to guarantee good results at the individual level and, consequently, at the organizational level. This study provides practitioners with possible routes to act in favor of a much happier and more creative workforce. Originality/value The originality of this study is because of the integration of these four concepts in a single study, providing evidence of the relationship between AL and creativity through the mediating role of AWB and moderating role of satisfaction with the management.

Authentic leadership and performance: the mediating role of employees’ affective commitment

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between authentic leadership (AL), affective commitment and individual performance. More specifically, this study aims to understand how AL influences employees’ affective commitment, how AL influences individual performance, how affective commitment influences individual performance and how affective commitment mediates the relationship between AL and individual performance. Design/methodology/approach In total, 212 Portuguese employees participated in this study. A quantitative methodology was used. Baron and Kenny’s linear regression method and Sobel test were used to test the mediation relationship. Findings The results reveal that affective commitment mediates the relationship between AL and employees’ performance. In others words, leaders’ authenticity promotes employees’ affective commitment, which, in turn, increases their individual performance. Practical implications This research has practical implications for human resource management in organizations, particularly in selection processes and training of leaders and managers. Practitioners looking to increase employee commitment and performance can do so by augmenting the AL. Originality/value This study enriches the knowledge about the relevance of emerging areas such as AL theory and responds to the need to understand underlying mechanisms linking AL with workers’ commitment and performance (i.e. testing the construct’s nomological network).

The relationship between authentic leaders and employees’ creativity: What are the roles of affective commitment and job resourcefulness?

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how authentic leadership (AL) predicts creativity both directly and through the mediating role of affective commitment (AC) and job resourcefulness (JR).,Data collected from a questionnaire administered to a sample of 543 employees have been analyzed. The model was tested using structural equation modeling.,The findings show that AL predicts AC, JR and creativity. The findings also show that AC and JR predict creativity. In other words, leaders’ authenticity increases employees’ creative spirit and, thus, employees’ ability to overcome obstacles and meet challenges at work and their emotional bond play an important role (mediators) in this relationship.,The results of this study are conclusive and contribute to a better understanding of AL and its implication for employees’ emotional bond, their ability to overcome obstacles and their ability to introduce new and useful ideas. This study provides evidence that organizations should focus on training leaders with authentic characteristics.,This study considers both AC and JR as mediators of the relationship between AL and creativity. Therefore, the originality of this study lies in the integration of these four concepts in a single study to provide a model that depicts the chain of effects between AL, AC, JR and an employee’s creativity.

The role of trust in corporate social responsibility and worker relationships

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show how organizational corporate social responsibility (CSR) can influence workers’ attitudes and behaviors, especially in terms of affective commitment (AC), job satisfaction (JS), and turnover intention (TI). A second aim is to explore the social exchange process that may underlie this relationship, by examining the mediating role of organizational trust (OT). Design/methodology/approach The authors employ structural equation modeling based on survey data obtained from 315 Portuguese individuals. Findings The findings show that perceptions of CSR predict workers’ attitudes and behaviors directly through the mediating role of OT. They suggest that managers should implement CSR practices because these can contribute toward fostering OT, improving workers’ AC and JS, and reducing TI. Originality/value This study enriches the existing knowledge about social exchange relationships in organizational contexts, and responds to the need to understand underlying mechanisms linking CSR with workers’ organizational outcomes, by analyzing CSR practices in a holistic stakeholder perspective.