Richa Chaudhary

Relationships between occupational self efficacy, human resource development climate, and work engagement

Purpose – Improving work engagement can have significant implications for performance at individual, team and organisational level. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of occupational self efficacy and human resource development (HRD) climate on work engagement among business executives of select business organisations in India. In addition, it aims to attempt to examine the mediating effect of HRD climate on self efficacy and work engagement relationship.Design/methodology/approach – The sample consisted of 150 business executives from both public and private sector manufacturing and service organisations in India. Data were collected through both personal visits and online questionnaires. Correlation and regression analyses were used to test the research hypotheses. Specifically, Baron and Kennys method was used for testing the hypotheses of mediation.Findings – A significant relationship was found between all variables in the study. All the study hypotheses were supported. HRD clim...

HRD Climate, Occupational Self-Efficacy and Work Engagement: A Study from India

While a good deal of the research on engagement has been conducted in the United States and Europe, less is known and written about engagement in developing countries. Addressing this, in light of gaps identified from literature review, a model was proposed and tested with occupational self-efficacy as the intervening variable between human resource development climate and work engagement. The sample for the study consisted of 214 business executives from both public and private sector manufacturing and service organizations with 81.7 % of them being males. Hypotheses were tested using a cross sectional design with the help of hierarchical regression analysis. The series of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that self-efficacy partially mediates the climate-engagement relationship. In addition, results of moderated regression analysis provided support for moderating effects of self-efficacy, with the relationship between climate and engagement being stronger for low self-efficacious individuals as ...

Corporate social responsibility and employee engagement: can CSR help in redressing the engagement gap?

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the influence of employees’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions on their engagement level at work. In addition, the study looks into the contingencies of the relationship by proposing and examining gender as moderator of the proposed relationship. Design/methodology/approach - The study sample consisted of 187 business professionals from both public and private sector manufacturing and service firms operating in India. The study uses a non-experimental correlational field study design. The data were collected with the help of self-administered questionnaires via both personal visits to the organizations and internet-based questionnaire using snowball sampling. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to test the study hypotheses. Findings - The study results clearly underscore the potential of firm’s involvement in CSR activities in influencing the employee attitude and behaviour at work. However, the study findings failed to show any significant effect of interaction between CSR and gender on employee engagement. Practical implications - Given the positive association of CSR with employee engagement irrespective of gender differences as reflected in the study results, CSR can actually be used across the organizations as tool for talent management. Originality/value - The study bridges the macro-micro divide and addresses to the need for micro level research in CSR stream by examining the influence of CSR perceptions on work engagement level of employees. The study advances existing body of knowledge beyond developed Western economies by exploring the strategic value of CSR in India, which presents a unique cultural context to look at.

Human Resource Development Climate in India: Examining the Psychometric Properties of HRD Climate Survey Instrument

The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of scores from human resource development (HRD) climate survey instrument by Rao and Abraham (1986). Data were obtained from 403 Indian business executives working in both public and private sector business organizations. Six interpretable factors were extracted as a result of exploratory factor analysis instead of three dimensional structure proposed by the authors of the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results provided support for the superiority of six factor model over alternative models. All the six factors were found to be internally consistent. Results indicated that Rao and Abraham’s scale with sound psychometric properties showed promise for HRD research. Establishing the psychometric properties of the instrument will further accelerate the HRD research in India. Importantly, the study has made an attempt to address the lack of research and practice on organizational climate, which is a matter of concern as expressed by several researchers, and revive the interest in climate studies to some extent.

Occupational Self Efficacy Expectations among Indian Executives: Examining the Psychometric Properties of Occupational Self Efficacy Scale (OSES)

The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of scores from occupational self efficacy scale (OSES) by Pethe et al. (1999). Data were obtained from Indian business executives, a population previously untested with OSES. Three interpretable factors were extracted as a result of exploratory factor analysis instead of six-factor structure proposed by the authors of the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results provided support for superiority of three-factor model over alternative models. All the three factors were found to be internally consistent. Results indicated that Pethe et al.’s scale, with minor modification, showed promise for self-efficacy research.

Job crafting and work-family enrichment: the role of positive intrinsic work engagement

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of job crafting behaviors in predicting work-family enrichment. It is hypothesized that employees who are able to adjust their work environment proactively by increasing structural and social job resources, increasing challenging job demands and decreasing hindering job demands would be more engaged and experience work-family enrichment. Design/methodology/approach The sample for the study consisted of 496 employees working in diverse nature of organizations in India. Structural equation modeling with the help of SPSS AMOS 20 was used for testing the study hypotheses. Findings The results reveal a strong relationship between job crafting and work-family enrichment experiences among employees. The study also established the role of work engagement as a mediator of the relationship between job crafting and work-family enrichment. Research limitations/implications The study significantly advances the underdeveloped literature on work-family enrichment by establishing job crafting as a predictor and illuminating the underlying psychological processes in a non-western collectivist culture. The study also contributes to theory building around the construct of job crafting which is still in its infancy. Practical implications The practitioners are encouraged to provide opportunities, support and freedom for job crafting to their employees for better work and home outcomes. Originality/value The present study is one of the pioneer attempts to examine how employees themselves can influence work-family enrichment by enhancing their work engagement using job crafting.

Factors influencing green purchase behavior of millennials in India

Purpose Building on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the purpose of this paper is to understand the green buying behavior of educated millennials in India. The study also attempts to extend the TPB by including two additional variables, environmental concern (EC) and willingness to pay premium, in the framework. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 202 students from various departments of an institute of higher education in India. The proposed model was tested with the help of structural equation modeling using bootstrapping procedures in SPSS AMOS 24. Findings Except for the direct association between subjective norm (SN) and purchase intention (PI), the study provided support for the TPB framework. EC was found to exert an indirect influence on green PI through its effect on attitude, SN and perceived behavioral control. Willingness to pay premium moderated the relationship of PI with green buying behavior. PIs were found to successfully translate into purchase behavior (PB). Practical implications This research by promoting an understanding on the factors affecting the green buying behavior of educated millennials in India will assist green marketers to tap the tremendous potential inherent in this market segment by formulating customized market plans and strategies. Originality/value The study extends the existing literature by validating and extending the TPB framework in a unique cultural context and advancing the understanding of underlying psychological mechanisms and boundary conditions of the relationship between PIs and PBs.

Work Engagement in India and Thailand: A Comparative Analysis

The study investigated the role of human resource development climate (HRDC) and self-efficacy as predictors of work engagement amongst IT-sector employees of India and Thailand. In addition, it also made an attempt to unfurl the mechanism underlying the proposed relationship by proposing and testing a model with self-efficacy as an intervening variable. Work engagement levels among IT-sector employees in Thailand were found be slightly higher than those among the employees in India. Both HRDC and self-efficacy were found to be significant predictors of work engagement. The results for self-efficacy as a mediator and a moderator of the proposed relationship between HRDC and work engagement are reported and discussed. Article building on the theoretical framework of the job-demands resources model, the social cognitive theory and the conservation of resources (COR) theory produces cross-national knowledge about work engagement and predictors.

CSR and turnover intentions: examining the underlying psychological mechanisms

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of employees’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions on their turnover intentions. It strives to understand the underlying psychological mechanisms by proposing and testing mediation and moderation hypotheses. Specifically, employee engagement was examined as mediator and gender, belief in the importance of CSR and CSR awareness were examined as moderators of the proposed relationship between CSR and turnover intentions. Design/methodology/approach The target population for the study consisted of junior, middle and senior business professionals from both public and private sector manufacturing and service firms operating in India. The data were collected with the help of self-administered questionnaires via both personal visits to the organizations and internet-based questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the study hypotheses. Findings The study results suggest a significant influence of employees’ CSR perceptions on their turnover intentions. Additionally, the study delineates the role of employee engagement in understanding the potential of a firm’s involvement in CSR activities in influencing employee attitudes and behaviour at work. Interestingly, significant gender variations were observed in the proposed set of relationships. Belief in the importance of CSR and CSR awareness were also found to significantly moderate the relationship between CSR and turnover intentions. Practical implications By providing persuasive evidence on tangible business benefits of CSR initiatives, this study addresses the concerns of corporate managers to prove the business potential and value engendered by their CSR efforts. Originality/value The study makes a novel contribution by not only examining the direct association between the CSR and turnover intentions, but also by going a step ahead to unfurl the underlying psychological mechanisms for better understanding of the relationships.

Development climate and work engagement: a multilevel study

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative impact of psychological HRD climate and HRD climate quality on work engagement. In addition, the paper attempts to examine the boundary conditions of the proposed relationship by proposing and testing HRD climate strength as the moderator of the relationship between psychological HRD climate, HRD climate quality and work engagement. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from a total of 375 business executives from select business organizations in India using standardized measurement instruments. As the present study involved variables at different levels of analysis, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) approach was utilized for the purpose of data analyses. Findings - The results of HLM revealed that the shared employee perception of development climate accounted for significant percentage of between person variance in work engagement above and beyond individual climate perceptions. HRD climate strength was found to moderate the psychological HRD climate and work engagement relationship but the interaction of HRD climate strength with HRD climate quality did not add further to the understanding of work engagement process. Practical implications - The findings of the present research imply that creating a climate of human resource development is a compelling intervention, which could provide competitive advantage to the firm in terms of enhanced work engagement levels among employees. Originality/value - The study established the importance of social system or social interaction climate in its own right by demonstrating its unique effects on individual attitudes over individuals’ idiosyncratic perceptions.