scholarly journals Ethical leadership and employee information security policy (ISP) violation: exploring dual-mediation paths

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Botong Xue ◽  
Feng Xu ◽  
Xin Luo ◽  
Merrill Warkentin
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Information Security ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeA growing number of studies have investigated the effect of ethical leadership on behavioral outcome of employees. However, considering the important role of ethics in IS security, the security literature lacks a theoretical and empirical investigation of the relationship between ethical leadership and employees' security behavior, such as information security policy (ISP) violation. Drawing on social learning and social exchange theories, this paper empirically tests the impact of ethical leadership on employees' ISP violation intention through both information security climate (i.e. from a moral manager's perspective) and affective commitment (i.e. from a moral person's perspective).Design/methodology/approachThe research was developed based on social learning theory and social exchange theory. To measure the variables in the model, the authors used and adapted measurement items from previous studies. The authors conducted a scenario-based survey with 339 valid responses to test and validate the research model.FindingsResults indicated that information security climate fully mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and ISP violation intention. The authors also found that information security climate enhances the negative effect of affective commitment on ISP violation intention.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the literature of information security by introducing the role of ethical leadership and integrating two theories into our research model. This study also calls attention to how information security climate and affective commitment mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and employees' ISP violation intention. The theory-driven study provides important pragmatic guidance for enhancing the understanding of the importance of ethical leadership in information systems security research.

The role of abusive supervision and organizational commitment on employees' information security policy noncompliance intention

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1383-1405
Author(s):  
Bowen Guan ◽  
Carol Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Abusive Supervision ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Continuance Commitment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between abusive supervision and employees' information security policy (ISP) noncompliance intention, building on affective commitment, normative commitment and continuance commitment. The study also examines the moderating effect of perceived certainty and severity of sanctions on the relationship between the three dimensions of organizational commitment and ISP noncompliance intention.Design/methodology/approachSurvey methodology was used for data collection through a well-designed online questionnaire. Data was analyzed using the structural equation model with Amos v. 22.0 software.FindingsThis study demonstrates that abusive supervision has a significant, negative impact on affective, normative and continuance commitment, and the three dimensions of organizational commitment are negatively associated with employees' ISP noncompliance intention. Results also indicate that the moderating effect of perceived severity of sanctions is significant, and perceived certainty of sanctions plays a positive moderating role in the relationship between affective commitment and employees' ISP noncompliance intention.Practical implicationsFindings of this research are beneficial for organizational management in the relationships between supervisors and employees. These results provide significant evidence that avoiding abusive supervision is important in controlling employees' ISP noncompliance behavior.Originality/valueThis research fills an important gap in examining employees' ISP noncompliance intentions from the perspective of abusive supervision and the impact of affective, normative and continuance commitment on ISP noncompliance. The study is also of great value for information systems research to examine the moderating role of perceived certainty and severity of sanctions.

Testing mediation effects of social and economic exchange in linking organizational training investment to employee outcomes

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 306-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhee Jung ◽  
Norihiko Takeuchi
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Exchange Theory ◽  
Economic Exchange ◽  
Organizational Training ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Although social exchange theory has long been used to explain employees’ positive work attitudes in response to perceived investment in employee development (PIED), few studies have examined this theoretical mechanism by introducing a direct measure of social exchange between employees and their personified organization. Furthermore, most studies have focused solely on one type of exchange (i.e. social exchange) and have ignored another type of exchange characterized as economic exchange. The purpose of this paper is therefore to uncover the process by which PIED affects employees’ attitudes, including affective organizational commitment and job satisfaction, by examining the mediating roles of both social and economic exchanges. Design/methodology/approach To test the hypothesized mediating model, this study conducted a three-phase, time-lagged questionnaire survey and collected data from 545 full-time employees. The model was tested based on structural equation modeling with a bootstrap test of indirect effects. Findings In line with social exchange theory, the findings showed that social exchange perceptions positively mediated the relationships between PIED and affective commitment/job satisfaction, whereas economic exchange perceptions negatively mediated them. Additionally, social and economic exchange perceptions were found to partially mediate the relationship between PIED and affective commitment but fully mediate the relationship between PIED and job satisfaction. Practical implications These results suggest that employers would benefit from investing in employee development, provided workers see the training investment as the employer’s side of social exchange, which in turn leads to increased affective commitment and job satisfaction. When employers do not achieve the expected returns from the training investment, they should check not only hard data (e.g. training attendance rate, hours of training, etc.) but also soft data (e.g. employees’ perceptions of training investment, social exchange, etc.) by conducting employee surveys and communicating with line managers. Originality/value The main contribution of this study is that it provides important empirical support for social exchange theory in the context of organizational training investment and employees’ attitudinal outcomes, by directly testing the positive mediating role of social exchange and the negative role of economic exchange.

Employability and Temporary Workers’ Affective Commitment: the Moderating Role of Voluntariness

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mafalda Espada ◽  
Maria José Chambel
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Temporary Workers ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role ◽  
Temporary Agency Workers

AbstractThe development of either internal or external employability of temporary workers has been considered a mechanism of protection since it ensures that employment can be maintained. According to the social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity, when temporary workers perceive that the training promoted by the organization furthers employability, they are inclined to feel obligated to reciprocate with positive attitudes toward the organization. With a sample of temporary agency workers from three distinct industry organizations (N = 279), the current study investigated the relationship between training that promotes both internal and external employability and affective commitment as well as the role of voluntariness as a moderator of these relationships. The hypotheses were tested by using regression analysis. The results indicated that the perception held by temporary workers that the training they received is a promoter of their internal employability is positively correlated with their affective commitment towards the organization. Furthermore, the data revealed that this relationship is weaker for the group of temporary workers with high voluntariness. On the other hand, there was not a significant relationship between the training that promotes external employability and the affective commitment of temporary workers. Likewise, voluntariness did not moderate this relationship.

Ethical leadership, frustration, and humor: a moderated-mediation model

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 665-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Valle ◽  
Micki Kacmar ◽  
Martha Andrews
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Positive Mood ◽  
Moderated Mediation ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Moderated Mediation Model ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of ethical leadership on surface acting, positive mood and affective commitment via the mediating effect of employee frustration. The authors also explored the moderating role of humor on the relationship between ethical leadership and frustration as well as its moderating effect on the mediational chain. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected in two separate surveys from 156 individuals working fulltime; data collections were separated by six weeks to reduce common method variance. The measurement model was confirmed before the authors tested the moderated mediation model. Findings Ethical leadership was negatively related to employee frustration, and frustration mediated the relationships between ethical leadership and surface acting and positive mood but not affective commitment. Humor moderated the relationship between ethical leadership and frustration such that when humor was low, the relationship was stronger. Research limitations/implications Interestingly, the authors failed to find a significant effect for any of the relationships between ethical leadership and affective commitment. Ethical leaders can enhance positive mood and reduce surface acting among employees by reducing frustration. Humor may be more important under conditions of unethical leadership but may be distracting under ethical leadership. Originality/value This study demonstrates how frustration acts as a mediator and humor serves as a moderator in the unethical behavior-outcomes relationship.

Information security policy compliance: a higher education case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled A. Alshare ◽  
Peggy L. Lane ◽  
Michael R. Lane
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Information Security ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Security Measures ◽  
Timely Manner ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this case study is to examine the factors that impact higher education employees’ violations of information security policy by developing a research model based on grounded theories such as deterrence theory, neutralization theory and justice theory. Design/methodology/approach The research model was tested using 195 usable responses. After conducting model validation, the hypotheses were tested using multiple linear regression. Findings The results of the study revealed that procedural justice, distributive justice, severity and celerity of sanction, privacy, responsibility and organizational security culture were significant predictors of violations of information security measures. Only interactional justice was not significant. Research limitations/implications As with any exploratory case study, this research has limitations such as the self-reported information and the method of measuring the violation of information security measures. The method of measuring information security violations has been a challenge for researchers. Of course, the best method is to capture the actual behavior. Another limitation to this case study which might have affected the results is the significant number of faculty members in the respondent pool. The shared governance culture of faculty members on a US university campus might bias the results more than in a company environment. Caution should be applied when generalizing the results of this case study. Practical implications The findings validate past research and should encourage managers to ensure employees are involved with developing and implementing information security measures. Additionally, the information security measures should be applied consistently and in a timely manner. Past research has focused more on the certainty and severity of sanctions and not as much on the celerity or swiftness of applying sanctions. The results of this research indicate there is a need to be timely (swift) in applying sanctions. The importance of information security should be grounded in company culture. Employees should have a strong sense of treating company data as they would want their own data to be treated. Social implications Engaging employees in developing and implementing information security measures will reduce employees’ violations. Additionally, giving employees the assurance that all are given the same treatment when it comes to applying sanctions will reduce the violations. Originality/value Setting and enforcing in a timely manner a solid sanction system will help in preventing information security violations. Moreover, creating a culture that fosters information security will help in positively affecting the employees’ perceptions toward privacy and responsibility, which in turn, impacts information security violations. This case study applies some existing theories in the context of the US higher education environment. The results of this case study contributed to the extension of existing theories by including new factors, on one hand, and confirming previous findings, on the other hand.

On the path towards open innovation: assessing the role of knowledge management capability and environmental dynamism in SMEs

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Martinez-Conesa ◽  
Pedro Soto-Acosta ◽  
Elias George Carayannis
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Environmental Dynamism ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integrative Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to shed light on the internal and external antecedents of open innovation (OI) in the context of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a special focus on the role of knowledge management (KM) capability. The paper develops and tests an integrative research model which assesses the effect of internal factors on KM capability; the impact of organizational and external factors, namely, KM capability and environmental dynamism, on OI; and whether environmental dynamism moderates the relationship between KM capability and OI. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the knowledge-based view and the social exchange and the contingency theories, this paper develops an integrative research model which analyzes several relations between organizational antecedents of KM capability and its effect on OI by using covariance-based structural equation modeling on a data set of Spanish SMEs. Findings Results confirm that information technology-supported operations and commitment-based human resource practices have a positive and significant influence on KM capability. In contrast, results do not find support for the relationship between interdepartmental connectedness and KM capability, whereas both KM capability and environmental dynamism have a direct influence on OI. Originality/value This paper adds to existing research on OI, as it is the first study that addresses the critical role of KM capability for the implementation of OI.

scholarly journals Is job insecurity always bad? The moderating role of job embeddedness in the relationship between job insecurity and job performance

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanshan Qian ◽  
Qinghong Yuan ◽  
Wanjie Niu ◽  
Zhaoyan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Interaction Effect ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Job Embeddedness ◽  
Conservation Of Resources ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Considering the mixed results of the relationship between job insecurity and job performance, this study investigated the interaction effect of job insecurity and job embeddedness on job performance and examined the mediating role of affective commitment from the perspectives of conservation of resources theory and social exchange theory. A survey of 725 contract employees from two Chinese private manufacturing companies revealed that when employees had high levels of job embeddedness, job insecurity was significantly and positively related to job performance. In contrast, job insecurity was significantly and negatively related to job performance when there were low levels of job embeddedness. Furthermore, the results indicated that affective commitment mediated the interaction effect. The above conclusions not only illustrate the important role of job embeddedness in the relationship between job insecurity and job performance but also provide beneficial ideas and information to organisations and employees for managing job insecurity.

Modeling team performance from the perspective of politics and ethical leadership

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 1357-1380
Author(s):  
Chieh-Peng Lin ◽  
Na-Ting Liu ◽  
Chou-Kang Chiu ◽  
Kuang-Jung Chen ◽  
Ni-Chen Lin
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Team Performance ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Team Identification ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Member Exchange ◽  
Performance Development ◽  
Indirect Relationship ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model of team performance by applying social exchange and social capital perspectives in a single model setting. It hypothesizes that team performance is indirectly affected by politics through leader–member capitalization (LMC) and by ethical leadership through leader–member exchange (LMX). Meanwhile, team identification is hypothesized to moderate the relationships between politics and LMC and between ethical leadership and LMX. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses of this study were empirically tested using a survey of work teams from the banking and insurance industry in Taipei, Taiwan. Findings The relationship between team performance and ethical leadership is fully mediated by LMX, while the indirect relationship between team performance and politics is mediated via both LMC and LMX. Team identification positively moderates the relationship between ethical leadership and LMX. Originality/value This study is one of the few to examine the mediating roles of LMC and LMX simultaneously in team performance development. This study provides several key findings that complement the existing literature by evaluating fresh associations among LMC, LMX and their determinants and moderator.

The relationship between learning culture, inquiry and dialogue, knowledge sharing structure and affective commitment to change

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 610-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parul Malik ◽  
Pooja Garg
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Learning Culture ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Commitment To Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the relationship between learning culture, inquiry and dialogue, knowledge sharing structure and affective commitment to change. Also, the paper examines the mediating effect of employee resilience on the relationship between learning culture, inquiry and dialogue, knowledge sharing structure and affective commitment to change. Design/methodology/approach The sample comprised of responses from 510 employees’ working in information technology companies based in India. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to analyse the proposed measurement model and structural equation modelling was used to test the study hypotheses. Additionally, the study utilized mediation analyses proposed by Preacher and Hayes (2004) to investigate the mediating role of employee resilience. Findings The results show significant relationship between the study variables. Employee resilience was found to partially mediate the relationship between learning culture, inquiry and dialogue, knowledge sharing structure and affective commitment to change. Practical implications Examining the relationship between learning culture, inquiry and dialogue, knowledge sharing structure and employee resilience can have significant implications for organizations. The proposed study framework can be utilized by the researchers and human resource practitioners to frame organizational practices and interventions to develop a pool of resilient and change committed workforce. Originality/value First, the general understanding of the relationship between learning culture, inquiry and dialogue, knowledge sharing structure and affective commitment to change is scant in literature. Second, the study extends the previous research by investigating the mediating role of employee resilience between learning culture, inquiry and dialogue, knowledge sharing structure and affective commitment to change.

Experiencing workplace ostracism with loss of engagement

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 617-630
Author(s):  
Xiaofeng Xu ◽  
Ho Kwong Kwan ◽  
Miaomiao Li
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Job Engagement ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Workplace Ostracism ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeDrawing on social exchange theory and a cultural perspective, this study examines the relationship between workplace ostracism and job engagement by focusing on the mediating role of felt obligation and the moderating role of collectivism.Design/methodology/approachA two-wave survey was conducted over four months in a private service business in China. The participants comprised 108 Chinese employees.FindingsThe results indicate that workplace ostracism has a negative relationship with job engagement through a reduced sense of felt obligation. Collectivism strengthens the main effect of workplace ostracism on felt obligation and its indirect effect on job engagement via felt obligation.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to understanding of the internal mechanism of the workplace ostracism–job engagement model by identifying the mediating role of felt obligation. It also emphasizes that collectivist cultures can enhance the effects of workplace ostracism. However, the generalizability of our findings may be limited due to this cultural factor.Practical implicationsOur findings show that workplace ostracism plays a significant role in reducing job engagement. Therefore, it is essential to reduce the incidence of ostracism in the workplace.Originality/valueBy addressing the previously unexplored mechanism that mediates the relationship between workplace ostracism and job engagement, this study provides new directions for research on workplace ostracism and job engagement.

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