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Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of learning climate on customer-oriented behaviors by incorporating salespeople's customer knowledge in the banks. It also explores the mediating role of customer knowledge between learning climate and customer-oriented behaviors.Design/methodology/approach– A conceptual two-level model that links learning climate to customer-oriented behaviors was developed and tested using data collected from salespeople and customers in banks in Taiwan. Data from 444 customers involving 92 salespeople was collected via a questionnaire and analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling.Findings– The results show that learning climate encourages salespeople to develop customer knowledge and customer-oriented behaviors, and that salespeople's customer knowledge positively influences customer-oriented behaviors. This study also provides empirical support for the hypotheses that learning climate helps salespeople increase customer-oriented behaviors through improving salespeople's customer knowledge.Research limitations/implications– The findings highlight the importance of enhancing learning climate and customer knowledge to enable banks to improve salespeople's customer-oriented behaviors. This research also points to customer knowledge as mediating mechanisms that can explain the association between learning climate and customer-oriented behaviors in the sales context.Originality/value– By integrating knowledge management with organizational learning research, this study evaluates the effect of learning climate on salespeople's customer-oriented behaviors by incorporating their customer knowledge. In addition, the present study points to salespeople's customer knowledge as one of several mediating mechanisms that explains the association between learning climate and customer-oriented behaviors.

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of goal conflict in the relationship between the contents of managers' personal work goals and occupational well-being (burnout and work engagement). Eight goal categories (organization, competence, well-being, career-ending, progression, prestige, job change, and employment contract) described the contents of goals. Goal conflict reflected the degree to which a personal work goal was perceived to interfere with other life domains.


Design/methodology/approach
– The data were drawn from a study directed to Finnish managers in 2009 (n=806). General linear models were conducted to investigate the associations between goal content categories and occupational well-being and to test whether goal conflict moderates the relationship between goal content categories and occupational well-being.


Findings
– Career-ending goals related to significantly higher burnout than progression goals. Participants with organization, competence, or progression goals reported the highest goal conflict, whereas participants with well-being, career-ending, or job change goals reported lower goal conflict. Goal conflict was found to have a moderating role: in a high-goal conflict situation, participants with organizational, competence, and progression goals reported lower occupational well-being, whereas participants with job change goals reported higher occupational well-being.


Originality/value
– The research highlights that both the contents and appraisals (e.g. goal conflict) of personal work goals should be taken into account when investigating the relationship between personal goals and well-being at work.

Purpose– Previous studies have often yielded mixed results in relation to the similar-to-me effect on extra-role behaviors. Based on social exchange theory, the purpose of this paper is to uncover the contribution of personality similarity to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), a type of extra-role behaviors.Design/methodology/approach– Questionnaire surveys were conducted in a multinational bank in Hong Kong. The participants were matched sample of 403 customer service representatives from 81 teams and their corresponding team supervisors.Findings– Personality similarity to peers and supervisors had a positive impact on individual OCB (OCB-I) and organizational OCB (OCB-O), respectively, through better communication and social integration. Moreover, personality similarity to peers was related only to OCB-I, whereas personality similarity to supervisor was associated only with OCB-O.Research limitations/implications– Subordinates perform different facets of OCB depending on the subjects they are similar to in terms of personality. Being similar to others could facilitate communication and social integration, which in turn promote OCB targeted at similar individuals. The importance of distinguishing the similarity effects of peers and supervisors separately as well as scrutinizing the effects of different forms of OCB warrants future research attention.Practical implications– Managers can promote OCB by enhancing communication and social integration among employees and supervisors.Social implications– As OCB enhances organizational effectiveness, the economic development of society in general will eventually benefit from having more effective organizations.Originality/value– This study addresses the inconsistent findings of previous studies regarding the impact of similarity on OCB. It demonstrates the contribution of personality similarity to OCB beyond the confounding effects of judgment bias. It also advances theory by studying personality similarity to peers in addition to the commonly studied similarity to supervisors.

Purpose– Organizational identification refers to a person's sense of belonging within the organization in which they work. Despite the importance of organizational identification for work-related attitudes and organizational behavior, little research has directly examined the mechanisms that may link these. The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of how organizational identification relates to job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach– Adopting a social identity perspective, the authors present and test two models that describe work engagement and its constituent dimensions (vigor, dedication, absorption) as mediating the relationship between organizational identification and job satisfaction.Findings– Bootstrapped mediation analyses provided support for full mediation whereby there is an indirect (via work engagement) and positive effect of organizational identification on job satisfaction. Analyses also provided support for the mediating effects of the three dimensions of work engagement, vigor, dedication, and absorption, in this relationship.Practical implications– Although cross-sectional, this study provides a needed first step toward an understanding of the important role of organizational identification for job satisfaction and the mediating role of work engagement in this relationship.Originality/value– The results provide valuable insights into the effects of organizational identification and address some of the gaps in understanding social identity as the context for work behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications for strengthening employee engagement and enhancing organizational identification are discussed.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to consider the extent to which changes in communication media are associated with changes in the nature of manager-expatriate employee communications. Using an affordance lens, the authors explore how hierarchical level and communication medium interact to influence status dynamics manifested in communication attributes.Design/methodology/approach– The hypothesis was tested with a 2 (hierarchical level)×3 (communication media) multivariate analysis of covariance (experience level) in a sample of 1,193 messages that were transmitted between managers and field employees in a global organization over a ten year period.Findings– The authors found significant interaction effects between communication media and hierarchical level on communication attributes such that changes in communication media intensified status differences between managers and their employees.Research limitations/implications– Communications media may be appropriated differently depending on one's hierarchical level.Practical implications– Managers should adopt new communication media more consciously given their potential influence of how people communicate.Originality/value– Unlike many computer-mediated communications (CMC) effects studies that compare face-to-face communications with CMC or employ self-report questionnaires or laboratory designs with student samples, this study examines a complete set of manager-employee communications over an extended period of time.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between humorous leadership and innovative behavior and the moderator effects of creative requirement and perceived innovation climate, beyond transformational leadership, and leader-member exchange (LMX).Design/methodology/approach– Questionnaire data were collected from 150 employees of various organizations in Germany.Findings– Employees whose leader used humor more frequently reported to be more innovative, when the employees perceived their tasks to require creativity and innovation. Perceived innovation climate did not moderate the relationship.Research limitations/implications– Different humor styles rather than just positive humor should be investigated in the future. Future research should incorporate multi-level designs and objective data on innovative behavior.Practical implications– Humorous leadership is an important element of innovation-relevant leadership behavior. Its use may be integrated in broader leadership development approaches.Originality/value– The study contributes to knowledge on humorous leadership and its relationship to organizational behavior. It enhances theoretical developments by considering the employees' task and perceived innovation climate as moderator variables. It helps establish humor as a leadership tool beyond constructs such as LMX or transformational leadership.

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that facilitate individual knowledge sharing. Specifically, the authors investigated the roles of coworker support and individual characteristics, i.e., exchange ideology and learning orientation on knowledge sharing.


Design/methodology/approach
– Data were collected from questionnaires distributed to employees and their direct supervisors in two companies in South Korea. Hierarchical regression analyses and simple slope test were performed to test the hypotheses.


Findings
– Coworker support and learning orientation is positively but exchange ideology is negatively related to knowledge sharing. Furthermore, when coworker support is low, knowledge sharing is mainly dependent on each individual's characteristics. However, when coworker support is high, employees showed high level of knowledge sharing irrespective of their individual characteristics.


Research limitations/implications
– This study suggested that the support from coworker as well as individuals' characteristics plays an important role in determining their knowledge sharing behaviors. Moreover, the authors found the significant interaction effects of coworker support and individual characteristics on knowledge sharing, drawing on insights from trait activation theory.


Practical implications
– For organizations to encourage individual knowledge sharing behaviors, they may need to maintain the work environment that encourages the peer workers to support each other.


Originality/value
– Although many actions have been adopted to foster knowledge management in organizations, employees may still be reluctant to share their knowledge. This paper highlights not only the main effects of coworker support and individual differences but also the interaction effect between them in facilitating knowledge sharing.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model of idiosyncratic deals (i-deals), embedded in the processes of work-family enrichment.Design/methodology/approach– Hierarchical linear regressions and indirect-effect analyses were used to analyze the data from 179 working parents surveyed in a Chinese city.Findings– Successful i-deal negotiation was contingent on both personal initiative of the employee and a positive influx of support from the family to the work domain. Additionally, the results suggested that: development i-deals enriched the intra-work role experience by customizing intrinsic work features and thus enhancing intrinsic motivation. Flexibility i-deals enriched the work-to-family boundary experience through increased instrumentality of the work role, connected to the economic basis of employment.Research limitations/implications– Providing new insights into the antecedents and consequences of i-deals, the study suggested a model through which employees can create balance and use synergies in their work-life quality. Based on single-source cross-sectional data, the results are preliminary.Practical implications– Human resource management needs to consider the family lives of employees, especially in the Chinese culture. The authors further discussed applications of and limitations to the use of i-deals.Social implications– The study provides a new approach to addressing the issue of balance between different social roles.Originality/value– The study is the first to investigate i-deals in the context of work-family enrichment, explore the role experiences of i-deal recipients, and link i-deals to distinct motivational processes.

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine a model of employee-customer identification (ECID) using two samples: nurses and cooperative extension frontline employees. The model posits that person-organization fit, person-job fit, and organizational identification are positively related to ECID.


Design/methodology/approach
– A recursive path-based structural model was employed to test seven hypotheses regarding the relationships between the two fit constructs, organizational identification, and ECID.


Findings
– In both samples, person-organization fit and person-job fit were positively related to organizational identification, and organizational identification was positively related to ECID. In the cooperative extension sample, person-job fit was positively related to ECID. Person-job fit was also indirectly related to ECID through organizational identification in both samples.


Research limitations/implications
– The results imply an important relationship between person-job fit and ECID that could be useful for improving service encounters between employees and customers. In addition, an emphasis on organizational identification may also contribute to improved employee-customer relationships.


Originality/value
– This study represents one of the first attempts to demonstrate a link between person-job and person-organization fit on ECID. The results of this study provide support for organizational identification and person-job fit as important factors in employee-customer relationships.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine a behavioral mechanism linking transformational leadership (TFL) and subordinates' task performance and its boundary conditions. The authors examined the mediation role of subordinates' feedback-seeking behavior and the interactive effect of self-efficacy and dyadic tenure on the transformational leadership-task performance link.Design/methodology/approach– Paper and pencil surveys were administered to 239 supervisor-subordinate dyads from different industries in Taiwan. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test the discriminant validity of the main variables. Hierarchical linear regression and bootstrapping were used to examine the moderated mediation effect.Findings– First, subordinates' feedback-seeking behavior mediates the relationship between TFL and subordinates' task performance. Second, self-efficacy mitigates this mediation process when dyadic tenure is low, whereas self-efficacy enhances this mediation process when dyadic tenure is high.Research limitations/implications– The use of a cross-sectional design prevents us from drawing causal conclusions.Practical implications– This study suggests that for high-self-efficacy subordinates, organizations should try to shorten the period required to familiarize oneself with transformational leaders. In contrast, for low-self-efficacy subordinates, organizations should try to enhance their self-efficacy over time to ensure that they are capable of implementing transformational leaders' expectations in the long run.Originality/value– This empirical study examines a behavioral mechanism in the TFL-task performance link. In addition, by addressing the interactive effect of TFL, self-efficacy and dyadic tenure, it resolves theoretical conflicts and enables us to better understand the effectiveness of TFL in different contexts. A Chinese sample is also unique and valuable.

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which perceptions of injunctive and descriptive norms for workplace organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) affect an individual's frequency of performing such behaviors. The study also explores whether the effects of norm perceptions are moderated by the individual's need to belong (NTB) to social groups.


Design/methodology/approach
– Hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyze data from 77 employed MBA students. Perceptions of OCB norms and NTB were assessed with an initial survey. Eight weeks later, a second survey assessed the individual frequency of OCBs.


Findings
– Descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and NTB independently predicted OCB frequency. Additionally, NTB moderated the effects of injunctive norm perceptions. The injunctive norm was particularly influential for employees high in NTB.


Research limitations/implications
– Limitations of this study include its cross-sectional nature and the possibility of common method bias.


Practical implications
– Study results indicate that managers can encourage OCBs by drawing attention to the prevalence of OCBs in the workplace (descriptive norm) and by showing approval of OCBs (injunctive norm). Hiring those with high NTB will also increase OCBs and enhance the effects of any effort on management's part to signify approval of OCBs. OCBs can also be encouraged through new employee orientation and training that emphasizes the descriptive and injunctive norms for OCBs.


Originality/value
– This is the first study to demonstrate social norms and NTB as predictors of workplace OCBs. This study also provides the first evidence that the effects of injunctive norms are moderated by NTB.

Purpose
– Increasing speed in many life domains is currently being discussed under the term "social acceleration" as a societal phenomenon which not only affects western societies, but may also lead to job demands arising from accelerated change. Demands such as work intensification and intensified learning and their changes over time may increase emotional exhaustion, but may also induce positive effects. The purpose of this paper is to examine how increases in demands arising from accelerated change affect employee well-being.


Design/methodology/approach
– A total of 587 eldercare workers provided data on work intensification and intensified learning as well as on exhaustion and job satisfaction at two points in time.


Findings
– Work intensification was negatively related to future job satisfaction and positively related to future emotional exhaustion, whereas intensified learning was positively associated with future job satisfaction and negatively with future emotional exhaustion.


Social implications
– Intensified demands represents a growing social as well as work-specific challenge which needs to be addressed by practitioners.


Originality/value
– Using a longitudinal perspective this study is the first to examine the relationship of increases in work intensification and intensified learning with job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion at work.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating effects of work-home interference (WHI) on the relationships between work demand, work attitudes, and job performance, with a focus on the moderating effect of Chinese work values (CWV).Design/methodology/approach– A self-administered survey method was used. The sample comprised 1,032 employees from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The moderated mediation framework was used to test the proposed model.Findings– The results showed that WHI mediated the relationships among work demand, job satisfaction, and affective organizational commitment (AOC), but did not mediate the relationship between work demand and job performance. CWV moderated the mediated relationships and exacerbated the mediation effects of WHI on the relationships between work demand and job satisfaction and AOC.Research limitations/implications– The use of a cross-sectional design prevented the drawing of causal inference. With the exception of job performance, the self-reported measures are all subject to the problem of common method bias.Practical implications– Organizations in Greater China could implement stress management programs to reduce the negative effects of work demands. HR practitioners and managers should understand what values their employees hold to provide the proper interventions for them.Originality/value– By integrating both the mediator (WHI) and a moderator (CWV), this study investigated how CWV, an individual-level cultural value, affects the influences of WHI. The results highlight the importance of incorporating culturally specific value constructs when examining the underlying mechanisms of WHI.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to apply a group norm approach to explain how average engagement across an organization is related to an individual's level of engagement.Design/methodology/approach– Survey data were collected from over 46,000 participants from 140 organizations. Multi-level analysis tested the hypotheses that similarity (in terms of shared status) and likely interaction would determine the extent a group's norms affected individual engagement. Normative data and the dependent variable data were provided by different participants.Findings– Results supported the aggregation of individuals' measure of engagement to form three norms within an organization: an employee norm, a manager norm and a senior leader norm. These engagement norms were significantly related to an individual's engagement at work beyond the effect of both organizational resources and manager support. Individuals were more strongly influenced by the norm of those in the organization with whom they were most similar and with whom they were likely to interact.Originality/value– Provides evidence that engagement exists at the group level and that status groups within the organization have norms that independently affect individual-level engagement.

Purpose– Based on social identity theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore how detrimental allegations of corruption are to potential applicants' organizational attraction and how potential harm can be absorbed by choosing an appropriate response strategy.Design/methodology/approach– Experimental survey data were collected from 239 German employees likely to be in the job market again in their careers.Findings– Potential applicants are less attracted to allegedly corrupt organizations. Accepting the allegation and undertaking structural change, appealing to higher organizational goals, and denying the allegation appear to be effective organizational response strategies. A strategy concordant with the one potential applicants would choose if they themselves were confronted with an allegation of corruption fosters attraction.Research limitations/implications– The experimental design limits external validity. Future research should investigate whether the findings hold in a field setting where additional information about the organization and the potential job is available.Practical implications– The findings demonstrate the need for organizational corruption prevention efforts. If organizations face allegations of corruption, they should carefully consider how to respond, what they signal by the chosen response strategy, and what applicants they are therefore likely to attract.Social implications– The observed interactions between organizations and individuals underline the need for societal efforts in creating a societal anti-corruption climate.Originality/value– The study highlights the critical role of allegations of corruption, organizational response strategies, and concordance with individual response strategies regarding potential applicants' organizational attraction.