Paula Benevene

The mediating role of interpersonal conflict at work in the relationship between negative affectivity and biomarkers of stress

This study examined the association between interpersonal conflict at work (ICW) and serum levels of three possible biomarkers of stress, namely the pro-inflammatory cytokines Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), Interleukin 12 (IL-12), and Interleukin 17 (IL-17). Additionally, this study investigated the role of negative affectivity (NA) in the relationship between ICW and the pro-inflammatory cytokines. Data from 121 employees in an Italian healthcare organization were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results showed that ICW was positively associated with IL-1β, IL-12, and IL-17, after controlling for the effect of gender. Moreover, ICW completely mediated the relationship between NA and the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-12, and IL-17. This mediating effect was significant after controlling for the effect of gender. Overall, this study suggests that work-related stress may be associated with biomarkers of inflammation, and that negative affectivity may influence the stress process affecting the exposure to psychosocial stressors.

Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI): A validation study in an Italian teacher group

The aim of this study was to validate the Italian version of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI; Kristensen, Borritz, Villadsen, & Christensen, 2005), a public domain questionnaire evaluating the level of physical and psychological fatigue experienced by individuals with respect to personal, work-related, and client-related burnout. Participants in the study were 1,497 teachers (89.3% female). The dimensionality of the CBI was explored by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The scale’s internal consistency was also examined. Concurrent validity was explored by investigating the associations of the CBI dimensions with the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004) and an ad hoc measure of self-efficacy. Results of CFA supported a model of measurement composed of three correlated factors: personal, work-related, and student-related burnout. Associations among the CBI factors, UWES, and self-efficacy scores were found to be in the expected directions and reliability of scales was consistent. Results suggest that the Italian version of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory is psychometrically robust and could be adopted for empirical uses.

Psychometric properties and factor structure of the Italian version of the "Aston Team Performance Inventory"

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to present the Italian version of the Aston Team Performance Inventory (the ATPI), to assess its psychometric properties and whether its factor structure reflects the input-process-output (I-P-O) model. Design/methodology/approach – The ATPI was administered to 702 Italian employees working in teams, recruited from the National Health Service (50.3 percent) and from public and private organizations (49.7 percent). To assess the psychometric properties of the ATPIs items, evaluation of discriminating power was performed. In addition to the reliability analyses, a confirmatory factor analysis of the full I-P-O model was also conducted. Findings – Significant results of the Italian version of the ATPI arise from the psychometric properties, dimensions and factor structure. Results align with the English version of the inventory. Research limitations/implications – The sample was limited and was not selected randomly. Future research should, therefore, expand the sample siz...

Representation of intellectual capital’s components amongst Italian social enterprises

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the representation that senior managers of Italian social enterprises have about their organization’s intellectual capital (IC), precisely about the human capital, relational capital and organizational capital. Design/methodology/approach This paper used a qualitative approach. A total of 81 senior managers were interviewed individually. Interview data were analyzed using different techniques of content analysis, particularly by using the T-Lab software (analysis of word occurrence and co-word mapping, analysis of Markovian sequences). Findings Findings confirm the divide between theory and practice of IC. The representation of the IC dimensions is rather different from the definition that is found in the academic literature. Limited awareness about IC components and their generative power of knowledge determines a limited exploitation of the social enterprises’ organizational knowledge. Research limitations/implications The group reached is limited to Italy and is not statistically representative of all Italian social enterprises. Practical implications Social enterprises are crucial in the development and well-being of societies. However, the findings suggest that many social enterprises managers are not fully aware of the importance of IC and how it may create value for their organizations. This paper stresses that senior managers of social enterprises need to, through various methods, have a better understanding of IC management and knowledge creation if they are to fully utilise the potential of IC in their organizations for survival and growth. Originality/value This is the first attempt to explore the perception of IC’s components among social enterprises, which represent an important development of non-profit organizations.

A qualitative study on the perception of intellectual capital among a group of senior managers of Italian social enterprises

ABSTRACT The aim of this explorative research is to understand how senior management of Italian social enterprises perceive the role played by the inteletual capital within their organisations in generating knowledge and organisational growth. Semi-structured,in-depth interviews were individually conducted with 81 senior managers of Italian SEs. Interview data were analysed using different qualitative techniques: discourse analysis (performed by two independent judges) as well as content analysis, run through the T-Lab software (analysis of word occurrence and co-word mapping). Findings show that senior managers have a limited understanding of the IC concept of their own organisations as a generative intangible resource. The contents of their perception of IC is more related to the management of human resources and the activities performed by their organisations. Implications for scholars and pratictioners are discussed.

Ethical Leadership as Antecedent of Job Satisfaction, Affective Organizational Commitment and Intention to Stay among Volunteers of Non-Profit Organizations

The aim of this paper is to investigate among a group of non-profit organizations: (a) the effect of ethical leadership (EL) on volunteers’ satisfaction, affective organizational commitment and intention to stay in the same organization; (b) the role played by job satisfaction as a mediator in the relationship between EL and volunteers’ intentions to stay in the same organization, as well as between EL and affective commitment. An anonymous questionnaire was individually administered to 198 Italian volunteers of different non-profit organizations. The questionnaire contained the Ethical Leadership Scale, the Volunteers Satisfaction Index, the Affective organization Scale, as well as questions regarding the participants’ age, sex, type of work, level of education, length of their volunteer works, intention to volunteer in the following months in the same organization. The construct as well the effects of EL on volunteers is approached in light of the Social Exchange Theory and the Social Learning Theory. Structural equation models were used to test hypothesized relationships. The results confirm the role of mediation of volunteer satisfaction in the relationships between the variables studied. In particular, EL was found to be positively associated both with volunteers’ intention of staying and with their affective commitment. In the first case this relationship is fully explained by the mediation of the volunteers’ satisfaction, while the latter is explained by both direct and indirect factors. To the authors’ knowledge, this the first attempt to understand the role played by EL on volunteers’ behavior and, more in general, in the management of non-profit organizations. Findings are relevant both for practitioners and managers of non-profit organization, since they suggest the relevance of the perception of EL by volunteers, as well as for scholars, since they further deepen the knowledge on EL and its effects on the followers. Limits of the study: the questionnaire was administered only among a group of non-statistical sample of volunteers. Furthermore, the study reached only volunteers from Italian non-profit organization.

Self-Esteem and Happiness as Predictors of School Teachers’ Health: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

Background: A wealth of cross-sectional studies show consistent positive relationships between teachers’ happiness and self-esteem on one hand, and health, on the other, which calls for additional research in order to disentangle cause and effect between the two, and to find potential mediators. Aims: To investigate the mediating role played by job satisfaction between teachers’ happiness and self-esteem and their physical and mental health. Methods: A questionnaire was administered, containing questions about participants’ background information and the following scales: the Job Satisfaction Survey, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Physical and Mental Health Scales (SF12), and the Ivens Scale in the Adapted Version for Teachers: School Children’s Happiness Inventory (SCHI). The participants were 300 primary and middle school teachers from the Indian State of Kerala. Results: Job satisfaction fully mediates between both happiness and self-esteem, and health in teachers. Conclusion: Work is a relevant domain to promote teachers’ happiness and self-esteem, and their health, through job satisfaction.

La rappresentazione del lavoro minorile nella stampa : uno studio esplorativo

Child work, child labor, social representations, content-analysis, discourseanalysis - The present study aims at investigating the social representation of child work in the press. According to the macro-hypothesis, there should be a stereotyped and negative representation of child work, that does not distinguish between legal and illegal works, between child work and adolescent work and, more generally, does not consider that in same cases work can be a training opportunity. 82 articles on child work, issued in the Italian press between 2003-2005 have been analysed with the software T-Lab, in terms of both content and discourse analysis. The results are only in part consistent with the main hypothesis, showing a problematic and multifaceted representation of child work with also positive elements, especially for what concerns the Catholic press.