Leaders’ Personal Wisdom and Leader–Member Exchange Quality: The Role of Individualized Consideration.Hannes Zacher,Liane K. Pearce,David Rooney &Bernard McKenna -2014 -Journal of Business Ethics 121 (2):1-17.detailsBusiness scholars have recently proposed that the virtue of personal wisdom may predict leadership behaviors and the quality of leader–follower relationships. This study investigated relationships among leaders’ personal wisdom—defined as the integration of advanced cognitive, reflective, and affective personality characteristics (Ardelt, Hum Dev 47:257–285, 2004)—transformational leadership behaviors, and leader–member exchange (LMX) quality. It was hypothesized that leaders’ personal wisdom positively predicts LMX quality and that intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration, two dimensions of transformational leadership, mediate this relationship. Data came from (...) 75 religious leaders and 1–3 employees of each leader (N = 158). Results showed that leaders’ personal wisdom had a positive indirect effect on follower ratings of LMX quality through individualized consideration, even after controlling for Big Five personality traits, emotional intelligence, and narcissism. In contrast, intellectual stimulation and the other two dimensions of transformational leadership (idealized influence and inspirational motivation) did not mediate the positive relationship between leaders’ personal wisdom and LMX quality. Implications for future research on personal wisdom and leadership are discussed, and some tentative suggestions for leadership development are outlined. (shrink)
Still Waters Run Deep: How Employee Silence Affects Instigated Workplace Incivility Over Time.Mona Weiss &Hannes Zacher -forthcoming -Journal of Business Ethics:1-18.detailsResearch has shown that employees who remain silent about important issues at work are likely to experience negative personal consequences (e.g., burnout, reduced job satisfaction). Less clear is whether silence, over time, could also lead to negative interpersonal consequences. Drawing on social identity theory, we propose that involuntary forms of silence (acquiescent and quiescent silence) lead to decreased organizational identification, which, in turn, leads to increased instigated incivility over time. We tested our model at the within-person level using five waves (...) of longitudinal data across four months from N = 1156 employees working in different industries. In line with predictions, results of random-intercept cross-lagged panel modeling (RI-CLPM) showed that higher acquiescent silence at the within-person level predicted subsequent decreases in organizational identification, which, in turn, predicted subsequent increases in instigated incivility. Contrary to expectations, there was no significant effect of quiescent silence on organizational identification. Supplemental analyses also revealed non-significant indirect effects for voluntary forms of silence (prosocial and opportunistic silence). Overall, these findings suggest that acquiescent silence may not only impair employees’ own well-being, but can also result in interpersonal harm. (shrink)
Do We Have a Match? Assessing the Role of Community in Coworking Spaces Based on a Person-Environment Fit Framework.Eileen Lashani &Hannes Zacher -2021 -Frontiers in Psychology 12:620794.detailsAs working arrangements become more flexible and many people work remotely, the risk of social isolation rises. Coworking spaces try to prevent this by offering not only a workplace, but also a community. Adopting a person-environment fit perspective, we examined how the congruence between workers' needs and supplies by coworking spaces relate to job satisfaction and intent to leave. We identified five needs (i.e., community, collaboration, amenities, location, and cost), of which community was expected to be the central need. An (...) online questionnaire was distributed among coworkers in Germany and Austria, resulting in a sample of 181 coworkers. Results showed that needs-supplies fit regarding community was related to job satisfaction and intent to leave in coworking spaces. Findings for the other needs, however, did not show that congruence is associated with outcomes. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of community fit in coworking and offer insights for workers and entrepreneurs in this area. (shrink)
Workforce Agility: Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Measure.Moritz K. H. Petermann &Hannes Zacher -2022 -Frontiers in Psychology 13.detailsThe concept of workforce agility has become increasingly popular in recent years as agile individuals are expected to be better able to handle change and uncertainty. However, agility has rarely been studied in a systematic way. Relations between agility and positive work outcomes, such as higher performance or increased well-being, have often been suggested but rarely been empirically tested. Furthermore, several different workforce agility measures are used in the literature which complicates the comparison of findings. Recognizing these gaps in the (...) literature, we developed a new workforce agility measure, compared this measure to established workforce agility measures, and empirically tested the relations of workforce agility with work outcomes. For this purpose, we surveyed participants from two samples. In a first step, we used Sample 1 to examine the factor structure of the measure for item selection. In a second step, we used Sample 2 to confirm the 10-factor structure and to compare the predictive validity of our measure along with two other agility measures. Findings demonstrate predictive validity for all three workforce agility scales, especially in relation to innovative performance. Furthermore, workforce agility related positively to task and innovative performance, organizational citizenship behavior, job satisfaction, and well-being. (shrink)