Explore the vast range of titles available.

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant implications to the workplace and highly impacted employee performance in every organization. In contemporary research, the scholars agree that leadership is one of the critical antecedents to predict employee performance in organizations. However, research is needed to investigate the mediating role of integral factors such as benevolence values (BV) and self-efficacy (SE) in predicting employee performance in the workplace. This study aimed to investigate the impact of key antecedents on employee performance in the banking industry. The findings reveal that the key antecedents, e.g., servant leadership (SL), self-efficacy (SE), and benevolence values (BV), have a direct positive relationship with employee performance (EP). Moreover, multiple indirect paths were tested, including serial mediation. This study used a quantitative methodology based on the positivist paradigm. A sample of 560 employees was randomly chosen. A survey questionnaire was distributed among them, and 400 were returned with a response rate of 70%, and the clean data of 400 employees was used for data analysis. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed using Smart PLS 3.3.3 software. The results confirmed that both SE and BV mediate the relationship between SL and EP. Likewise, BV mediates the relationship between SE and EP, and SE mediates the relationship between SL and BV. Finally, in serial mediation, the relationship between SL and EP is also established via SE and BV together as mediators.

PurposeThe study adopts an intersectional approach to identify the key dimension(s) that reproduce inequalities in women's subsistence entrepreneurship within urban-poor settings in the global south.Design/methodology/approachThe in-depth case study is based on 44 semi-structured interviews and four focus-group discussions with women entrepreneurs based within urban-poor dwellings in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.FindingsThe authors contribute to the literature by identifying how intersecting socio-class and socioeconomic inequalities, and patriarchal norms of izzat (meaning: honour, respect) and purdah (or veil), perpetuate disadvantage for women entrepreneurs producing and/or selling business goods and services.Originality/valueThe findings challenge the view of entrepreneurship as a meritocratic and neutral activity for social emancipation. The authors argue that multiple social hierarchies and inequalities operate simultaneously, but how these are understood, exercised and reproduce disadvantage for women entrepreneurs, depends on their social class. The authors propose a triple bind of domestic, market and societal inequalities as a heuristic framework for understanding intersecting inequalities, patriarchy and subsistence entrepreneurship in Pakistan, specifically the global south.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm-specific information diffusion from 1,219 non-financial US firms between 2000 and 2012. By using Arellano-Bond dynamic panel-data estimation, we found evidence that suggests that stock prices of socially responsible firms have higher levels of firm-specific information diffusion. However, the size of firms plays a negative moderating role in this relationship. There is a positive and significant relationship between primary (technical) CSR activities and information diffusion among larger firms, while this relationship is reversed for secondary (institutional) CSR activities for similar firms. This study contributes to existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the CSR-Informativeness relationship, the moderating role of firm size and identifying the importance of primary stakeholders' CSR in US firms. This study has important policy implications for company management as it provides legitimacy to their CSR engagements, and to investors that CSR engagements should be considered as pricing factor.

Purpose This study aims to explore an interpersonal predictor of coworkers-directed knowledge hiding behavior – the leader–member exchange social comparison (LMXSC). This study integrates leader–member exchange literature with social comparison theory to hypothesize that an individual’s upward LMXSC is positively correlated with coworkers-directed knowledge hiding and that an individual’s feelings of envy are mediated by the relationship between upward LMXSC and coworkers-directed knowledge hiding behavior. Also, this study proposes two-way and three-way interaction patterns of goal interdependence, which can influence LMXSC–envy relationships. Design/methodology/approach Two independent studies are conducted to test the hypothesized relationships. In Study 1, the authors collected multi-wave data from a large public sector university in China (N = 1,131). The authors then replicated the Study 1 findings by collecting multi-source and multi-wave data from a telecom company based in China (n = 379). Findings The authors found support across both studies for the idea that upward LMXSC is a possible interpersonal predictor of coworkers-directed knowledge hiding behavior. More specifically, it was found that feelings of envy ensue from upward LMXSC, resulting in further coworkers-directed knowledge hiding behavior. Further, this study shows that the influence of upward LMXSC on knowledge hiding behavior via feelings of envy was weaker (stronger) when employees have high (low) cooperative goal interdependence with coworkers, respectively, and when employees have low (high) competitive goal interdependence with the coworkers, respectively. Originality/value This study extends current knowledge management literature by introducing LMXSC as an interpersonal predictor of coworkers-directed knowledge hiding behavior. This will help practitioners to curb such counterproductive behavior.

With the increased competitiveness and significance of the workforce, the responsibility of organizational leaders has been increased to behave ethically and lead their followers in the best ethical way. This study aims to explore how the perception and trust of followers of their middle-level managers can shape the ethical behavior of middle managers and their bottom-line mentality. This qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews from 10 employees of two Pakistani textile organizations—selecting five employees from each. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis. The findings reported that the bottom-line mentality demands are given priority. Thus, to achieve these demands, ethical values are being ignored while the nature of the task and attitude of the supervisor leads towards the social undermining of the employees. Furthermore, it has been found that leaders’ behavior and personality are more important in building trust and perception of employees, and this perception does not entail that leader will be acting ethically in real, but they are perceived to be. This study can provide valuable implications for policymakers, especially HR personnel, to device policies by considering ethical leadership practices. The findings of this research recommend that better performance and profit maximization by employees can be enhanced by reducing the bottom-line mentality of top management. Few scholars have elaborated on ethical leadership, the complexity of the leader–follower relationship, and individual perceptions. Behavioral aspects, bottom-line mentality, and trust from employees’ perspective in ethical leadership have received little attention. In addition, this research has taken a step forward by exploring the collectivist country of Pakistan.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced employees to adapt and adjust to the new normal in an unprecedented way. While some employees have been able to move to work-from-home (WFH) relatively easily, many find it challenging. Notwithstanding the magnitude of change, little is known about the determinants of WFH employees’ mental health during COVID-19. This study therefore aims to explore (1) the salient factors that contribute to the mental health issues of WFH employees and (2) strategies to overcome WFH challenges. A qualitative approach using phenomenological inquiry was adopted. Forty-one employees who worked from home in Pakistan were sampled using the purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Overall, employees believe that organizations offer inadequate support in both work-related and non-work-related matters. Five themes were elicited and coded as factors that contribute to mental health issues among WFH employees. Technical issues and system complexities, the absence of flexible working arrangements, distractions, a lack of communication, and inadequate social support were found to obstruct WFH and cause mental distress. Behavioral and cognitive coping strategies were also determined to tackle these mental issues. This study complements the human resource literature by exploring the factors that obstruct WFH and cause mental health issues in the context of the pandemic crisis. As mental well-being is more intricate than administrative arrangements, the study is useful for organizations to develop a feasible mechanism that facilitates the smooth execution of WFH for employees while ensuring their mental health is preserved. Using a phenomenological inquiry, the present study is one of the few to explore the factors that contribute to the mental health of WFH employees in the context of the pandemic crisis. Apart from its contribution to knowledge on human resource management and organizational behavior, it provides useful implications for managers, policymakers, and practitioners to manage WFH employees more effectively.

The purpose of this article is to understand the relationship between psychological ownership, knowledge sharing, knowledge hiding and employee motivation in knowledge intensive organizations. We take employee motivation in terms of approach motivation and avoidance motivation and examine moderating role of the former in case of the psychological ownership – knowledge sharing relationship, and the latter in case of the psychological ownership – knowledge hiding relationship. We examine these relationships on data collected during a pandemic (i.e., COVID-19). Data are collected from 217 individuals working in knowledge intensive high-tech organizations and educational institutes. Hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). Results show that stronger feelings of psychological ownership lead to both positive work behavior (i.e., knowledge sharing) as well as negative work behavior (i.e., knowledge hiding). Furthermore, approach motivation positively moderates the positive relationship between psychological ownership and knowledge sharing. A moderating role of avoidance motivation, however, is not confirmed. Research has ignored the role of different types of employee motivation, particularly approach motivation vis-à-vis knowledge behaviors. Furthermore, by examining these relationships in the context of a Pandemic (i.e., COVID-19), we offer some interesting insights and offer implications for management practice. For example, managers may incorporate reward practices to motivate employees towards knowledge sharing, and nurture an organizational climate, which discourages knowledge hiding.

This study examines how and when passionate leaders can instigate work passion in their followers. We propose relational energy as a social interaction mediator that can facilitate the crossover of work passion from leader to followers. Additionally, we introduce a moderator of culture (Anglo culture, e.g., Canada vs. Confucian Asian culture, e.g., China) as it plays a vital role in the dynamics of interpersonal relations within a leader-follower dyad. We collected two-wave data from MBA students of two Confucian Asian countries (China and Singapore, n = 120) and two Anglo countries (Canada and Australia, n = 265) to test our moderated mediation model. The results show that interactions with passionate leaders can generate relational energy in followers and subsequently lead to followers’ passion for work. Furthermore, the findings shed light on the moderating effect of culture, such that the leader-follower work passion relationship via follower relational energy was stronger for followers from Anglo culture than the followers from Confucian Asian culture. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

PurposeGiven the extensive evidence of femvertising's positive effects in Western cultures, this paper aims to investigate how femvertising may influence customers' perceptions and brand-related outcomes in a patriarchal context such as Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachQualitative methodology was employed in this study, which was based on in-depth interviews involving 17 consumers (including both male and females). Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.FindingsResults indicated that male and female consumers revealed varied and sometimes contradictory perspectives on the perception, understanding and behaviour towards femvertised adverts, which are governed by patriarchal gendered norms.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the body of knowledge by exploring the consumer perception towards femvertising in a patriarchal context, where gender disparity is evident. It also draws attention to the underlying cultural elements contributing towards the formation of those perceptions.

Voluntary pro-environmental behaviors in the workplace such as organizational citizenship behavior towards environment (OCBE) are pertinent for the organizations striving to become environmentally responsible entities. The significance of OCBE for green organizational initiatives has led scholars to strive for expanding its nomological network. Approaching from the theoretical angle of the social information processing approach, this quantitative, survey-based study theoretically links and empirically tests the impact of environmental transformational leadership on organizational citizenship behavior towards environment (OCBE) via mediating mechanism of perceived meaningful work. Data from a sample of 311 employees working in Pakistan’s hospitality sector were collected and analyzed to test the hypothesized relationships using structural equation modelling. Results indicated the indirect effect of perceived meaningful work on the relationship between environmental transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behavior towards environment. Implications of both theoretical and practical nature are laid out in the relevant sections of the paper.