Sustainability

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5 pages, 196 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Corporate Sustainability, Ethics and Employee Satisfaction

by Pablo Ruiz-Palomino, Rafael Morales-Sánchez and Ricardo Martínez-Cañas

Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11964; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111964 - 29 Oct 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4396

Abstract

Corporate sustainability has emerged as an important area of study recently [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Sustainability, Ethics and Employee Satisfaction)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

19 pages, 673 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Nature and Antecedents of Employee Energetic Well-Being at Work and Job Performance Profiles

by Tina Peeters, Karina Van De Voorde and Jaap Paauwe

Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7424; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137424 - 2 Jul 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3365

Abstract

While it is generally assumed that employees who feel well are also productive, research has shown that this is not always the case. Specifically, some employees seem to experience low well-being while performing, and vice versa. As employee well-being and performance are both [...] Read more.

While it is generally assumed that employees who feel well are also productive, research has shown that this is not always the case. Specifically, some employees seem to experience low well-being while performing, and vice versa. As employee well-being and performance are both required to achieve corporate sustainability, the purpose of this research was to identify energy-related well-being/job performance profiles among 5729 employees from the Dutch division of a large bank and identify their antecedents. Using latent profile analysis, we found five profiles: 1. low well-being/low performance, 2. low well-being/medium performance, 3. high well-being/medium performance, 4. high well-being/high performance, and 5. high well-being/top performance. Using multinomial regression, we found that more learning and development opportunities, more social support from colleagues, more autonomy, and less role-conflict were related to the high well-being profiles. Second, more role clarity, more performance feedback, more autonomy, and less work-pressure were related to the high- and top-performance profiles. Finally, communication and social support from the manager were found to be relatively weak antecedents of the different profiles. This study thus highlights that the job demands and resources of employees may affect their well-being and performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Sustainability, Ethics and Employee Satisfaction)

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14 pages, 602 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Employee Satisfaction in Labor-Owned and Managed Workplaces: Helping Climate and Participation Spillover to Non-Owners

by Renée De Reuver, Brigitte Kroon, Damian Madinabeitia Olabarria and Unai Elorza Iñurritegui

Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3278; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063278 - 16 Mar 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2468

Abstract

In contrast to shareholder-owned organizations, worker-owned cooperative organizations foster employee wellbeing such as employee satisfaction as an important outcome by itself. Due to expansions and economic fluctuations, larger worker-owned cooperations nowadays use mixtures of employment contracts resulting in varying shares of co-owners, contracted [...] Read more.

In contrast to shareholder-owned organizations, worker-owned cooperative organizations foster employee wellbeing such as employee satisfaction as an important outcome by itself. Due to expansions and economic fluctuations, larger worker-owned cooperations nowadays use mixtures of employment contracts resulting in varying shares of co-owners, contracted and temporary employees in workplaces. In the current paper, we research if this situation challenges the moral commitment of worker cooperatives to their employees, which derive from the cooperative philosophy on corporate responsibility. Where previous research contrasted employee wellbeing in worker cooperatives with share- holder owner organizations, this paper describes how various shares of co-owners in workplaces change mediating processes of helping climate and workplace participation and ultimately result in different levels of employee satisfaction. Archival data combined with survey data of 5907 employees in 99 hypermarkets were tested with multivariate analyses, and indicated that the helping climate and workplace participation positively mediated the association between the share of co-owners in hypermarkets and employee satisfaction. The findings imply that traditional worker-owned cooperatives, where a majority of all workers are owners, had more success in fostering cooperative values as a strategic outcome. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Sustainability, Ethics and Employee Satisfaction)

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27 pages, 5483 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Business Ethics Decision-Making: Examining Partial Reflective Awareness

by Marli Gonan Božac, Katarina Kostelić, Morena Paulišić and Charles G. Smith

Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2635; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052635 - 1 Mar 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4986

Abstract

The aim of this research was to examine partial reflective awareness in ethical business choices in Croatia. The ethical decision-making is interlinked with sustainable practices, but it is also its prerequisite. Thus, better understanding of business ethics decision-making provides a basis for designing [...] Read more.

The aim of this research was to examine partial reflective awareness in ethical business choices in Croatia. The ethical decision-making is interlinked with sustainable practices, but it is also its prerequisite. Thus, better understanding of business ethics decision-making provides a basis for designing and implementing sustainability in a corporate setting. The research was done on student populations who will soon carry important roles and make important decisions for individuals, organizations, and society. The field research was conducted using Kohlberg’s scenarios. The results reveal that the process of decision-making goes through the lenses of respondents’ own preferred ethics. However, the reflective awareness of respondents’ preferred ethics is skewed and regularities in that deviations point out to the relevance of the context characteristics and arousal factors. In addition, the individuals do not use all available information in the assessment process. The revealed partial reflective awareness contributes to explanation of why people have problems with justifying their choices. As there are many examples of unethical behavior in the environment that remain unpunished, it is necessary to raise awareness of the issue. Improvement in reflective awareness would contribute to more sustainable ethical choices and reveal a possibility of an intervention design within the higher education framework. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Sustainability, Ethics and Employee Satisfaction)

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12 pages, 287 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gender Differences in Engagement in Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior—Two Studies in Poland

by Tomasz Gigol

Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010039 - 23 Dec 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4216

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present the results of research on the differences in unethical pro-organizational behavior between men and women. Enterprises run the risk of loss of reputation as a result of unethical pro-organizational behavior on the part of their [...] Read more.

The objective of this article is to present the results of research on the differences in unethical pro-organizational behavior between men and women. Enterprises run the risk of loss of reputation as a result of unethical pro-organizational behavior on the part of their staff. Such behavior also stands in opposition to sustainable enterprise development. However, an employee who engages in this type of behavior may suffer guilt and embarrassment. In the long term, this hinders employee well-being. The correlation between engagement in unethical pro-organizational behavior and the respondents’ gender was examined in two empirical studies. The first one was carried out among full-time employees of companies operating in various sectors in Poland, who were extramural students (N = 786). The second study was conducted half among employees of three large holding companies and half among working students of postgraduate studies (N = 389). The t-Student test was employed in the study. Statistical analysis was performed with the use of the IBM SPSS Amos 25.0.0 software. The theoretical framework of gender socialization theory was employed. The main conclusion is that women are less inclined to display unethical behavior for the sake of an organization than men. This is the first—or one of the first articles—devoted to studying the correlations between unethical pro-organizational behavior and gender. The results of the study can be applied in practice as they support increased participation of women in management as well as in creation and implementation of ethical codes in organizations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Sustainability, Ethics and Employee Satisfaction)

17 pages, 662 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Challenge–Hindrance Stressors on Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior: Mediating Role of Emotions

by Lin Xu and Jigan Wang

Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7576; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187576 - 14 Sep 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4259

Abstract

Unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), which threatens the sustainable development of enterprises, has become important research content in organizational management in recent years. Based on the framework of challenge–hindrance stressors, we explored the effect of stress on UPB from an emotional perspective. Multi-mediation models [...] Read more.

Unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), which threatens the sustainable development of enterprises, has become important research content in organizational management in recent years. Based on the framework of challenge–hindrance stressors, we explored the effect of stress on UPB from an emotional perspective. Multi-mediation models were constructed to reveal the relationship between stressors (challenge and hindrance stressors) and UPB, and the mediating roles of individual anxiety, attentiveness, and anger. The results of 375 questionnaires indicated that challenge stressors had no significant relationship with UPB due to the presence of the suppression effect. Challenge stressors had a positive effect on UPB through anxiety and a negative effect on UPB through attentiveness. Hindrance stressors had a positive effect on UPB through the mediation of anxiety and anger. Managers can benefit from the findings to correctly cope with employees’ emotional reactions and unethical behaviors caused by work stress, and take appropriate management measures to reduce and prevent employees’ UPB. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Sustainability, Ethics and Employee Satisfaction)

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19 pages, 351 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Are Socially Responsible Companies Really Ethical? The Moderating Role of State-Owned Enterprises: Evidence from China

by Xiangyu Chen, Muhammad Safdar Sial, Dang Khoa Tran, Waseem Alhaddad, Jinsoo Hwang and Phung Anh Thu

Sustainability 2020, 12(7), 2858; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072858 - 3 Apr 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4274

Abstract

The present research aims to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility and earnings management (EM). For this study, we utilized the panel data of companies registered with the Shanghai and the Shenzhen stock exchanges. The data consists of 10years of financial data [...] Read more.

The present research aims to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility and earnings management (EM). For this study, we utilized the panel data of companies registered with the Shanghai and the Shenzhen stock exchanges. The data consists of 10years of financial data from 2010 to 2019. After a thorough investigation, we discovered that CSR hurts the EM practice, which mainly relates to the prevalence of the ethical stance and the moral stance in corporate decision-making. When firms engage in activities about CSR, they tend to improve their corporate image and their social image as the stakeholder satisfaction level increases. The results also indicate that, when firms engage in these types of activities, they tend to incorporate practices related to CSR as part of their corporate strategy. This also results in a higher moral standing amongst the decision-makers, and they prefer to reject malpractices, such as EM, as a result. In the case of the Chinese state-owned firms, the results indicate that these companies increasingly engage in real earnings management (REM), even though they have increased their CSR activities. The results point towards management opportunism with Chinese state-owned companies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Sustainability, Ethics and Employee Satisfaction)

14 pages, 365 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Management Characteristics as Determinants of Employee Creativity: The Mediating Role of Employee Job Satisfaction

by Siyuan Miao, Abdulkhamid Komil ugli Fayzullaev and Alisher Tohirovich Dedahanov

Sustainability 2020, 12(5), 1948; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051948 - 4 Mar 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 6464

Abstract

Purpose/Research Question: Managers of organizations play a significant role in promoting sustainability by enhancing employee job satisfaction and employee creativity. Despite the number of studies on employee job satisfaction, much remains unknown regarding the mediating role of employee job satisfaction in the relationship [...] Read more.

Purpose/Research Question: Managers of organizations play a significant role in promoting sustainability by enhancing employee job satisfaction and employee creativity. Despite the number of studies on employee job satisfaction, much remains unknown regarding the mediating role of employee job satisfaction in the relationship between management characteristics (such as supervisor humility and abusive supervision) and employee creativity. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate how the links between supervisor humility, abusive supervision, and employee creativity are mediated by employee job satisfaction. Design/Methodology: We collected data from 352 highly skilled employees of manufacturing organizations in the Republic of Korea by conducting an online survey. A structural equation modeling procedure was used to evaluate the validity of the proposed hypotheses. Findings/Results: The results demonstrated that supervisor humility is positively related to employee job satisfaction, while abusive supervision is negatively related to employee job satisfaction. The findings also indicated that employee job satisfaction mediates the relationships between supervisor humility, abusive supervision, and employee creativity. Originality/Value: This work is the first to evaluate employee job satisfaction as a mediator of the link between characteristics of management (such as supervisor humility and abusive supervision) and employee creativity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Sustainability, Ethics and Employee Satisfaction)

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