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Journal ArticleDOI

The Relationship Between Line Manager Behavior, Perceived HRM Practices, and Individual Performance: Examining the Mediating Role of Engagement

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the role played by line managers in the link between HRM practices and individual performance outcomes and found that perceived line manager behavior and perceived human resource management practices are linked with employee engagement.
Abstract: This article examines the role played by line managers in the link between HRM practices and individual performance outcomes. Drawing on social exchange theory, the authors test a mediated model linking perceived line manager behavior and perceived human resource management practices with employee engagement and individual performance. The study focuses on two self-report measures of individual performance; task performance and innovative work behavior. Two studies with a total of 1,796 participants were conducted in service-sector organizations in the United Kingdom and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The data reveal that perceived line manager behavior and perceived HRM practices are linked with employee engagement. In turn, employee engagement is strongly linked to individual performance and fully mediates the link between both perceived HRM practices and perceived line manager behavior and self-report task performance (study 1), as well as self-report innovative work behavior (study 2). The findings show the significance of the line manager in the HRM-performance link, and the mediating role played by employee engagement. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The claim that high levels of engagement can enhance organizational performance and individual well-being has not previously been tested through a systematic review of the evidence as discussed by the authors, and the authors conducted a systematic synthesis of narrative evidence involving 214 studies focused on the meaning, antecedents and outcomes of engagement.
Abstract: The claim that high levels of engagement can enhance organizational performance and individual well-being has not previously been tested through a systematic review of the evidence. To bring coherence to the diffuse body of literature on engagement, the authors conducted a systematic synthesis of narrative evidence involving 214 studies focused on the meaning, antecedents and outcomes of engagement. The authors identified six distinct conceptualizations of engagement, with the field dominated by the Utrecht Group's ‘work engagement’ construct and measure, and by the theorization of engagement within the ‘job demands–resources’ framework. Five groups of factors served as antecedents to engagement: psychological states; job design; leadership; organizational and team factors; and organizational interventions. Engagement was found to be positively associated with individual morale, task performance, extra-role performance and organizational performance, and the evidence was most robust in relation to task performance. However, there was an over-reliance on quantitative, cross-sectional and self-report studies within the field, which limited claims of causality. To address controversies over the commonly used measures and concepts in the field and gaps in the evidence-base, the authors set out an agenda for future research that integrates emerging critical sociological perspectives on engagement with the psychological perspectives that currently dominate the field.

532 citations


Cites background from "The Relationship Between Line Manag..."

  • ...Where employees feel that they are being treated well and valued by their employer, they are more likely to respond by exerting effort on behalf of the employer in the form of raised levels of engagement (Alfes et al. 2013a)....

    [...]

  • ...…engagement and organizational citizenship behaviour (e.g. Rich et al. 2010); seven found a link between engagement and innovative behaviour (e.g. Alfes et al. 2013b); several studies found a link between engagement and adaptive service offering (Barnes and Collier 2013) and between engagement…...

    [...]

  • ...A further three found a positive link between perceptions of HRM practices and engagement (e.g. Alfes et al. 2013a)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
09 Mar 2015
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue in support of a model that shows how four key HRM practices focused on engagement influence organizational climate, job demands and job resources, the psychological experiences of safety, meaningfulness and availability at work, employee engagement, and individual, group and organizational performance and competitive advantage.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue in support of a model that shows how four key HRM practices focused on engagement influence organizational climate, job demands and job resources, the psychological experiences of safety, meaningfulness and availability at work, employee engagement, and individual, group and organizational performance and competitive advantage Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual review focuses on the research evidence showing interrelationships between organizational context factors, job factors, individual employee psychological and motivational factors, employee outcomes, organizational outcomes and competitive advantage The proposed model integrates frameworks that have previously run independently in the HR and engagement literatures Findings – The authors conclude that HRM practitioners need to move beyond the routine administration of annual engagement surveys and need to embed engagement in HRM policies and practices such personnel selection, socializatio

465 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between employee voice and employee engagement was investigated. And the authors found that the direct connection between perceptions of voice behaviour and engagement is mediated by both employee trust in senior management and the employee-line manager relationship.
Abstract: This paper considers the relationship between employee voice and employee engagement. Employee perceptions of voice behaviour aimed at improving the functioning of the work group are found to have both a direct impact and an indirect impact on levels of employee engagement. Analysis of data from two organisations confirms that the direct connection between perceptions of voice behaviour and engagement is mediated by both employee trust in senior management and the employee–line manager relationship. Key concepts are outlined, and the implications of the findings for future research and for the management of engagement are discussed.

232 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review the contribution of the seven articles in this special issue to the advancement of theory and evidence on employee engagement, and highlight areas where further research is needed to answer important questions in the emergent field that links HRM and engagement.
Abstract: The development of mainstream human resource management (HRM) theory has long been concerned with how people management can enhance performance outcomes. It is only very recently that interest has been shown in the parallel stream of research on the link between employee engagement and performance, bringing the two together to suggest that engagement may constitute the mechanism through which HRM practices impact individual and organisational performance. However, engagement has emerged as a contested construct, whose meaning is susceptible to ‘fixing, shrinking, stretching and bending’. It has furthermore not yet been scrutinised from a critical HRM perspective, nor have the societal and contextual implications of engagement within the domain of HRM been considered. We review the contribution of the seven articles in this special issue to the advancement of theory and evidence on employee engagement, and highlight areas where further research is needed to answer important questions in the emergent field that links HRM and engagement.

216 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of flexibility human resource management (HRM) on employee outcomes over time, as well as the role of age in these relations, were investigated, and the effectiveness of flexibility HRM depends upon employee age and the type of outcome involved, and consequently, theory on flexibility at work should take the age of employees into account.
Abstract: This study investigated the effects of flexibility human resource management (HRM) on employee outcomes over time, as well as the role of age in these relations. Based on work adjustment theory and AMO theory, it was predicted that availability and use of flexibility HRM would be positively related to employee engagement, as well as higher job performance.Moreover,we postulated different hypotheses regarding the role of employee age.While generation theory predicts that younger generations would reactmore strongly to flexibility HRM in relation to engagement, selection, optimization, and compensation theory of ageing predicts that older workers respond more strongly in relation to job performance.A longitudinal study amongUS employees and a study among employees in 11 countries across the world showed that engagement mediated the relationships between availability of flexibility HRM and job performance. Moreover, we found partial support for the moderating role of age in the relations of flexibility HRM with the outcomes: Flexibility HRMwas important for youngerworkers to enhance engagement,while for olderworkers, it enhanced their job performance. The study shows that the effectiveness of flexibilityHRM depends upon employee age and the type of outcome involved, and consequently, theory on flexibility at work should take the age of employees into account.

176 citations

References
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TL;DR: This article seeks to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ, and delineates the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena.
Abstract: In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators.

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TL;DR: In this paper, the statistical tests used in the analysis of structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error are examined, and a drawback of the commonly applied chi square test, in additit...
Abstract: The statistical tests used in the analysis of structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error are examined. A drawback of the commonly applied chi square test, in addit...

56,555 citations

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TL;DR: The extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results is examined, potential sources of method biases are identified, the cognitive processes through which method bias influence responses to measures are discussed, the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases is evaluated, and recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and Statistical remedies are provided.
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Book
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TL;DR: The book aims to provide the skills necessary to begin to use SEM in research and to interpret and critique the use of method by others.
Abstract: Designed for students and researchers without an extensive quantitative background, this book offers an informative guide to the application, interpretation and pitfalls of structural equation modelling (SEM) in the social sciences. The book covers introductory techniques including path analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, and provides an overview of more advanced methods such as the evaluation of non-linear effects, the analysis of means in convariance structure models, and latent growth models for longitudinal data. Providing examples from various disciplines to illustrate all aspects of SEM, the book offers clear instructions on the preparation and screening of data, common mistakes to avoid and widely used software programs (Amos, EQS and LISREL). The book aims to provide the skills necessary to begin to use SEM in research and to interpret and critique the use of method by others.

42,102 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide guidance for substantive researchers on the use of structural equation modeling in practice for theory testing and development, and present a comprehensive, two-step modeling approach that employs a series of nested models and sequential chi-square difference tests.
Abstract: In this article, we provide guidance for substantive researchers on the use of structural equation modeling in practice for theory testing and development. We present a comprehensive, two-step modeling approach that employs a series of nested models and sequential chi-square difference tests. We discuss the comparative advantages of this approach over a one-step approach. Considerations in specification, assessment of fit, and respecification of measurement models using confirmatory factor analysis are reviewed. As background to the two-step approach, the distinction between exploratory and confirmatory analysis, the distinction between complementary approaches for theory testing versus predictive application, and some developments in estimation methods also are discussed.

34,720 citations