The impact of impression‐management tactics on supervisor ratings of organizational citizenship behavior

Previous research indicates that the use of impression management is related to supervisor ratings of employee likeability and job performance. It has been argued, though, that employees might also use impression management so that their superiors will see them as ‘good soldiers’ who engage in high levels of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). This study investigates the ways in which three types of impression management—namely, job‐focused, self‐focused, and supervisor‐focused tactics of impression management—influence supervisor ratings of OCB. Using a sample of 122 supervisor‐subordinate dyads, the findings indicate that supervisor‐focused tactics of impression management are positively related to OCB ratings, while job‐focused tactics are negatively related to such evaluations. Additionally, citizenship behaviors are positively related to supervisor liking of the employee and overall ratings of job performance. Finally, the results suggest that OCB ratings mediate the relationship between supervisor‐focused tactics of impression management and supervisor evaluations of employee likeability. Some implications of this study and directions for future research are also addressed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Counternormative impression management,likeability, and performance ratings: the use of intimidation in an organizational setting

Social‐role theory suggests that women are likely to be penalized for acting assertively (or in other ways that are counter to stereotypical expectations). Using a sample of 76 supervisor–subordinate dyads, this research investigates the reactions of supervisors to the use of intimidation strategies by men and women working in a law enforcement agency. The findings suggest that, among female employees, the use of intimidation tactics of impression management is negatively related to supervisor ratings of likeability. In contrast, among males, the use of intimidation is unrelated to supervisor ratings of likeability. In addition, for females, the use of intimidation is unrelated to performance ratings; among male employees, though, the relationship between intimidation and performance evaluations is positive. The implications of this study for management practice and future research are also discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An integrative model of managerial perceptions of employee commitment: antecedents and influences on employee treatment

An integrative model of antecedents and outcomes of managerial perceptions of employee organizational commitment was developed and tested with 490 employees of a publicly owned U.S. manufacturing firm. The results are consistent with predictions showing that self‐reported affective commitment and supervisor‐focused impression management predicted managerial perceptions of affective commitment, whereas age, tenure, education, training and development, and self‐focused impression management were related to managerial perceptions of continuance commitment. Furthermore, manager‐rated affective and continuance commitment were differentially related to supervisory treatment of the employee (i.e. receiving contingent rewards and non‐contingent punishment). The results of this study show how managers develop perceptions of affective and continuance commitment, and through their associated treatment of employees, has important implications for the ways managers may serve to enhance or detract from employee contributions to the organization. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does one good turn deserve another? coworker influences on employee citizenship

Social information processing and social learning theories were utilized to hypothesize that an employee's organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is influenced by the collective OCB in one's workgroup. An aggregate measure of OCB was constructed based upon Podsakoff, MacKenzie, and Fetter's (1993) measures of Organ's (1988) typology of OCB, and the study was replicated using both supervisor and employee‐provided ratings of OCB. The sample for this study included 566 employees (488 for the supervisor‐rated analysis) from 56 workgroups in a manufacturing organization. The mean level of OCB for other members of one's workgroup explained significant variance in individual levels of OCB. We also found that this effect is moderated by the consistency of the display of the OCB within the workgroup. The consistency of OCB across coworkers was associated with more OCB by individuals and this effect was replicated across both supervisor and employee ratings. Explanations and uses for our findings are discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organizational politics and organizational support as predictors of work attitudes,job performance,and organizational citizenship behavior

This study investigated the relationship of organizational politics and organizational support to various work attitudes and behaviors among a field sample of 128 participants. Consistent with our hypothesis, politics and support were related to job satisfaction, commitment, turnover intentions, and supervisor ratings of organizational citizenship behaviors. However, only support was related to job performance. We also examined whether or not organizational politics and organizational support comprise two distinct constructs or one global factor. The evidence here was ambiguous. Fit indices obtained from confirmatory factor analysis suggested that it is more parsimonious to treat politics and support as opposite ends of the same construct, though the two‐factor model did show a slightly better fit. On the other hand, subsequent multiple regression analyses showed that support tended to account for additional criterion variance beyond the effect of politics, implying that there may be some practical utility to retaining politics and support as distinct constructs. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reactions to psychological contract breach: a dual perspective

This study examined reactions to psychological contract breach from two separate perspectives, that is, employee's reactions to perceptions of employer breach and supervisor's reactions to perceptions of employee breach of the psychological contract. In addition to the main effects, we also hypothesized that the benevolence (or kindness) of the supervisor and the traditional values (or respect for authority) of the employee would attenuate the negative effects of psychological contract breach. We tested these hypotheses with a sample of 273 supervisor‐subordinate dyads from the People's Republic of China. The results showed that employer breach correlated negatively with employee outcomes of organizational commitment (OC), organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and work performance, but this negative relationship was weaker for employees with traditional values. The results also demonstrated that employee breach correlated negatively with responses from the supervisor, in terms of the mentoring provided to the employee and the leader‐member exchange (LMX) quality. However, more benevolent supervisors reacted less negatively in terms of the mentoring than did the less benevolent supervisors. Implications for future research are offered. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When the dark ones become darker: How promotion focus moderates the effects of the dark triad on supervisor performance ratings

The current study adds to a growing body of research on dark personality traits by investigating the moderating role of promotion focus on the relationships among dark triad traits and facets of job performance. Specifically, we investigated the effects of the dark triad (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) on supervisor ratings of performance, and the moderating effect promotion focus has on those effects. Using field data, we surveyed 549 employees from a manufacturing company in the USA and obtained supervisor ratings of task performance and helping behavior for each employee. We found support for multiple hypotheses, which suggests that managers rated narcissistic and psychopathic employees as having poorer task performance and psychopathic employees as engaging in fewer helping behaviors than employees low in those traits. Furthermore, promotion focus strengthened these negative relationships. We did not find these effects for Machiavellianism. Implications of these findings for future dark personality research as well as the practical implications for managers and organizations are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The ripple effect: A spillover model of the detrimental impact of work–family conflict on job success

Exploring the role of both the employee and supervisor, we tested a model of how cognition‐based work‐to‐family conflict manifests itself in the workplace, impacting employee job success. Based on conservation of resources theory and the concept of loss spirals, we hypothesized that when an employee's work interferes with family demands, the resulting work‐to‐family conflict spills over to the work domain via employee emotional exhaustion. We further argued that the behavioral manifestation of employee emotional exhaustion in the workplace is low employee engagement, as assessed by the supervisor. Drawing on signaling theory, we proposed that supervisor assessments of employee engagement are related to promotability, performance ratings, and salary. Work scheduling autonomy, as a boundary condition, is examined as a resource that attenuates these relationships. Data collected from 192 employee–supervisor dyads of a Fortune 1000 company, as well as performance ratings and salary obtained from company records 9 months later, indicated support for our conceptual model. Future research examining employee work–family conflict and job outcomes is discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Person–organization and person–supervisor fits: Employee commitments in a Chinese context

The present study simultaneously examined people's perceptions of person–organization (PO) and person–supervisor (PS) fit and related these perceptions to employees' commitments. Three‐hundred‐and‐sixty employee–supervisor dyads from Taiwanese organizations reported about their PO fit and PS fit perceptions. In addition, supervisors reported about their perceptions of fit and guanxi with each of their employees. Results indicated that PO and PS fit perceptions both had an independent and additive relationship with organizational commitment. The link between employee PS fit perceptions and organizational commitment was mediated by commitment to the supervisor. Both employee and supervisor fit perceptions contributed to commitment to the supervisor through their influence on the quality of the leader‐member exchange (LMX). Guanxi could not explain additional variance in LMX and supervisor commitment. Implications for theory and practices regarding person–environment fit, commitment, and LMX are discussed. The study findings offered suggestions for a new Theory of Multiple Fits. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Psychological ownership and feelings of possession: three field studies predicting employee attitudes and organizational citizenship behavior

An increasing number of scholars and practitioners have emphasized the importance of ‘feelings of ownership’ for the organization (even when employees are not legal owners). In this exploratory study, we examine the relationships of psychological ownership with work attitudes and work behaviors. We start by developing hypotheses based on the psychology of possession and psychological ownership literatures. We then test these hypotheses with data from three field samples, using responses from over 800 employees, as well as manager and peer observations of employee behavior. Results demonstrate positive links between psychological ownership for the organization and employee attitudes (organizational commitment, job satisfaction, organization‐based self‐esteem), and work behavior (performance and organizational citizenship). More important, psychological ownership increased explained variance in organization‐based self‐esteem and organizational citizenship behavior (both peer and supervisor observations of citizenship), over and above the effects of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Contrary to prior theoretical work on psychological ownership, results, however, fail to show an incremental value of psychological ownership in predicting employee performance. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The interactive effects of conscientiousness,openness to experience,and political skill on job performance in complex jobs: The importance of context

Caveats concerning the ability of personality to predict job performance have been raised because of seemingly modest criterion‐related validity. The goal of the present research was to test whether narrowing the context via the type of job (i.e., jobs with complex task demands) and adding a social skill‐related moderator (i.e., political skill) would improve performance prediction. Further, along with political skill, the broad factor of personality demonstrated in prior research to have the strongest criterion validity (i.e., conscientiousness) was joined with a narrow construct closely related to openness to experience (i.e., learning approach) in a three‐way interactive prediction of supervisor‐rated task performance. With the employee–supervisor dyads among professionals, but not with the control group of non‐professional employees, task performance was predicted by the three‐way interaction, such that those high on all three received the highest performance ratings. Implications, strengths and limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trust as a mediator of the relationship between organizational justice and work outcomes: test of a social exchange model

Data obtained from full‐time employees of a public sector organization in India were used to test a social exchange model of employee work attitudes and behaviors. LISREL results revealed that whereas the three organizational justice dimensions (distributive, procedural and interactional) were related to trust in organization only interactional justice was related to trust in supervisor. The results further revealed that relative to the hypothesized fully mediated model a partially mediated model better fitted the data. Trust in organization partially mediated the relationship between distributive and procedural justice and the work attitudes of job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and organizational commitment but fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and these work attitudes. In contrast, trust in supervisor fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and the work behaviors of task performance and the individually‐ and organizationally‐oriented dimensions of citizenship behavior. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Antecedents and outcomes of employee perceptions of intra‐organizational mobility channels

Employees' beliefs about how promotions are awarded within their organizations can have important consequences. We conducted two studies that focus on perceptions of the criteria used to make promotion decisions. In Study 1, we identified two types of perceived promotion criteria, performance‐based and nonperformance‐based. Then we use justice and social exchange theories to develop a model linking employee perceptions of promotion criteria to performance via their relationships with promotional justice and organizational commitment. In a sample of 305 employee–supervisor pairs, we found that both promotional justice and organizational commitment mediated between perceptions of promotion criteria and supervisor rated in‐role and extra‐role performance, and that having received a promotion in the past predicted attributions that promotions were based relatively more on performance or nonperformance criteria. Study 2 further examined the role of promotions themselves in the formation of perceptions of promotion criteria. Drawing from image and attribution theories, we hypothesized that the relationship between having received a promotion or not and perceptions of promotion criteria depends on ego defensiveness. In a sample of 145 employees, we found that those who scored high on ego defensiveness and who had not been promoted were especially likely to attribute promotion decisions to nonperformance criteria. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of non‐performance information on ratings of job performance: A policy‐capturing approach

Researchers have suggested that rater motives and the organizational context should be considered as sources of performance appraisal inaccuracies. A review of the performance appraisal literature revealed three primary non‐performance factors that managers consider when rating employee performance: (a) Potential negative consequences of ratings, (b) organizational norms, and (c) the opportunity to advance self‐interests. Using a policy‐capturing methodology, the current study investigated if these three non‐performance factors, as well as individual rater differences (e.g., conscientiousness, agreeableness, and performance appraisal experience), influence performance ratings. A sample of 303 experienced managers rated the performance of a fictitious employee, featured in a series of hypothetical scenarios, in which the above information was manipulated. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the results revealed that each of the three non‐performance related considerations accounted for variance incremental to objective employee performance. Managers' performance appraisal experience also predicted ratings, such that more experience was associated with lower ratings. These results provide support for the view that non‐performance factors can be a substantive component of performance ratings. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two facets of conscientiousness and the knowledge sharing dilemmas in the workplace: Contrasting moderating functions of supervisor support and coworker support

This study adopts self‐ and other‐centered approaches to explain how the two facets of conscientiousness (i.e., dutifulness and achievement striving) distinctly resolve knowledge sharing dilemmas among employees. It also explores how the critical social surroundings of employees (i.e., supervisor support and coworker support) neutralize or activate the effects of dutifulness and achievement striving on knowledge‐sharing behavior. Our analysis of the data collected from 150 employee–supervisor dyads corroborates that the other‐centered facet of conscientiousness (dutifulness) is positively related to knowledge‐sharing behavior, whereas the self‐centered facet (achievement striving) is negatively related to the same behavior. The analysis also affirms that the positive effect of dutifulness and the negative effect of achievement striving on knowledge sharing are strengthened when supervisor support is low and coworker support is high. This study offers theoretical and practical implications relevant to knowledge management in organizations, distinct roles of facet‐specific personalities toward knowledge sharing, and contrasting personality–situation interactions by situation strength and trait activation in shaping employee behavior.     

The effect of other orientation on self–supervisor rating agreement

Employees generally rate their performance more favorably than do their supervisors, which can lead to conflict and poor job performance. However, comparative international research indicates that persons from other‐oriented collectivist cultures are less self‐enhancing, suggesting that other‐oriented employees will exhibit greater agreement with ratings provided by their supervisors. We examined the effect of subordinates' other orientation on self‐supervisor performance rating agreement. Consistent with cultural expectations, self‐ratings of other‐oriented subordinates showed greater agreement with ratings provided by their supervisors and less leniency relative to their supervisors' evaluations. These findings have implications for understanding how employees in different professions, organizations, and cultures utilize feedback from their supervisors. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When perceived innovation job requirement increases employee innovative behavior: A sensemaking perspective

Building on the sensemaking perspective, we theorize and test conditions under which perceived innovation job requirement increases employee innovative behavior. Using data consisting of 311 employee–supervisor pairs from two companies in China, we found that perceived innovation job requirement had a more positive relation with innovative behavior for employees with low intrinsic interest in innovation than for those with high intrinsic interest. In addition, this positive effect for low‐intrinsic‐interest employees was achieved only when these employees interpreted the job requirement as important either because performance‐reward expectancy was high or because perceived value for the organization was high. We discuss the implications of these results for research and practice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transformational leadership,psychological empowerment,and the moderating role of mechanistic–organic contexts

The current study examines the empowering effects of transformational leaders and the extent to which these effects differ across mechanistic–organic organizational contexts. Psychological empowerment is hypothesized to provide a comprehensive motivational mechanism explaining the relationships between transformational leadership and employee job‐related behaviors. In addition, the relationships between transformational leadership, employee psychological empowerment, and job‐related behaviors are hypothesized to be stronger in organizations with more organic as opposed to mechanistic structures. Results based on a cross‐organizational sample of employees and their immediate supervisors provide support for the hypothesized relationships. Psychological empowerment mediated relationships between transformational leadership and employee task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors. The mediating role of psychological empowerment was then found to be conditional upon mechanistic–organic contexts. More specifically, organic structures enhanced, whereas mechanistic structures constrained, the empowering influence of transformational leaders. In highly mechanistic contexts, the indirect effects were no longer statistically significant. Implications for theory, research, and organizational management are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Who takes the lead? A multi‐source diary study on leadership,work engagement,and job performance

Transformational leadership is associated with a range of positive outcomes. Yet, according to substitutes for leadership theory, there may be circumstances under which it is difficult, if not impossible, for leaders to inspire and challenge their employees. Therefore, we hypothesize that transformational leadership behaviors as well as employee self‐leadership strategies contribute to employee work engagement and job performance. Furthermore, we hypothesize that transformational leadership behaviors are more effective when employees have a high need for leadership, whereas self‐leadership strategies are more effective when employees have a low need for leadership. A sample of 57 unique leader–employee dyads filled out a quantitative diary survey at the end of each week, for a period of five weeks. The results of multilevel structural equation modeling showed that employees were more engaged in their work and received higher performance ratings from their leader when leaders used more transformational leadership behaviors, and when employees used more self‐leadership strategies. Furthermore, we showed that transformational leadership behaviors were more effective when employees had a high (vs. low) need for leadership and that the opposite was true for employee self‐leadership. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of employees in the transformational leadership process. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transformational leadership,relationship quality,and employee performance during continuous incremental organizational change

Although transformational leadership has been investigated in connection with change at higher levels of organizations, less is known about its “in‐the‐trenches” impact. We examined relations among transformational leadership, explicit change reactions (i.e., relationship quality), change frequency, and change consequences (i.e., task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)) during continuous incremental organizational change at lower hierarchical levels. In a sample of 251 employees and their 78 managers, analyses revealed that the quality of relationships between leaders and employees mediated the influence of transformational leadership on employee task performance and OCB. We also found that change frequency moderated the positive association of relationship quality with task performance and OCB, such that associations were stronger when change frequency was high. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.