Investigating the Impact of Organisational Culture and Leadership on Knowledge Sharing Behavioural Intention Among Employees in Organisations in the United Arab Emirates

This study seeks to obtain a better understanding of the factors influencing employees’ knowledge sharing behavioural intentions within the Emirati organisational context. While the literature provides some examples of studies on the subject in Western countries and Asia, there has been a lack of research around the topic in the Middle East, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Some organisations have placed a lot of emphasis on innovation and technology and forgotten what (ultimately) makes their business really successful – the human factor. The study followed a mixed methodology approach; the quantitative method was the primary approach and qualitative methods were employed as a complementary technique to deepen the understanding of some of the quantitative data results. The theoretical foundation of this thesis is based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). These theories are widely used in social psychology to explain many human behaviours. The model therefore is developed based on the latest evolution of the TRA and TPB framework as well as additional factors highlighted in the literature. Eleven variables were tested to examine their impact on the intention to share knowledge in an organisational context. Primary data were obtained from a questionnaire administered to three large government organisations in the UAE: of 1073 questionnaires, 881 were usable. A total of 21 (including the pilot interviews) semi-structured interviews were carried out in the same three organisations with organisational executives, KM managers and KM practitioners. Structural equation modelling was used to test the three study models. The results show that both inclusive leadership’s and knowledge leadership’s influence on organisational culture dimensions (participation, trust, agreement, team orientation, and openness) were highly significant. Interestingly, and contrary to expectations, the quantitative data show that neither participation nor team orientation had a significant impact on attitude toward knowledge sharing. Also, the results show that inclusive leadership has a positive an impact on attitude toward knowledge sharing whereas knowledge leadership was found to have a negative influence. In addition, all TRA constructs were significant for all three models. The results offer various insights into knowledge sharing behavioural intentions in organisations in the UAE. Policy makers, executive leaders and KM managers will be able to utilise the results and the practical implications of this study to create intervention programs to enhance knowledge sharing intentions and practices in organisations. The thesis provides an alternative view to the more common technological focus, moving it more onto human related factors. It is important for organisations to acknowledge the importance of both leadership and organisational culture on knowledge sharing behavioural intentions among employees. Like anything else that keeps evolving, organisational culture and leadership too evolves and therefore, organisations need to look for the best organisational culture and leadership style that will keep them on top of the market

The More You Give the More You Get Back: Moderating Effect of Leadership on Knowledge Sharing in Online Programming Communities

Although there is a significant growth of emerging online programming communities, little succeeded in encouraging members to contribute and share their knowledge. The role of leadership to address the under contribution problem is gaining attention among researchers. This study grounded on path-goal theory to Investigates specifically the role of supportive leadership and achievement oriented leadership behaviour toward knowledge sharing in online programming community (OPC). This introduced model is tested empirically using data collected from 20 online programming communities. The findings from the analysis suggests that self-efficacy and outcome expectancy influences knowledge sharing behaviour of members in online programming community. The finding implied that although online communities are informal in nature, the appropriate type of leadership can boost the members’ efficacy and outcome expectancy toward sharing their knowledge, with the suitable level of autonomy and recognition of members contributions can motivate members to continuously contribute to online programming communities and promoting the sustainability in this platform

Meta-Analysis of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT): Challenging its Validity and Charting A Research Agenda in the Red Ocean

There are both formal and informal cries that UTAUT and by association the stream of research on technology adoption has reached its limit, with little or no opportunities for new knowledge creation. Such a conclusion is ironic because the theory has not been sufficiently and suitably replicated. It is possible that the misspecifications in the various replications, applications, and extensions led to the incorrect conclusion that UTAUT was more robust than it really was and opportunities for future work were limited. Although work on UTAUT has included important variables, predictors and moderators, absent a faithful use of the original specification, it is impossible to assess the true nature of the effects of the original and additional variables. The present meta-analysis uses 25,619 effect sizes reported by 737,112 users in 1,935 independent samples to address this issue. Consequently, we develop a clear current state-of-the-art and revised UTAUT that extends the original theory with new endogenous mechanisms from different, other theories (i.e., technology compatibility, user education, personal innovativeness, and costs of technology) and new moderating mechanisms to examine the generalizability of UTAUT in different contexts (e.g., technology type and national culture). Based on this revised UTAUT, we present a research agenda that can guide future research on the topic of technology adoption in general and UTAUT in particular

The moderating effect of culture on the interactions of internal brand management practices and its outcomes

As the management of the firm’s workforce constitutes a strategically important source of its success, both scholars and practitioners are paying increasing attention to the recent field of internal brand management. Up to now, no study has focused on the moderation effects of culture and employee characteristics on the relationship between the three internal brand management practices (brand-oriented human resource management, brand communication, and brand-oriented leadership) and their two outcomes (brand commitment and brand citizenship behavior). To fill the scientific gap, collectivistic Portugal is compared to individualistic Germany by analyzing the data of 319 employees, which has been collected via an online survey. The analysis finds (1) an effect of all three practices on brand commitment while (2) only brand communication and brand commitment affect brand citizenship behavior. Additionally, (3) culture moderates the relationship between brand-oriented leadership and brand commitment whereas (4) educational background functions as a moderator of brandoriented human resource management and brand citizenship behavior. Due to the study’s focus on two-way interactions effects, future research needs to examine the impact of multiple moderators. Moreover, the generalizability of the findings is questionable since the broad spectrum of employees’ industries may have incorporated third variables and the sample mainly consisted of Germans. The findings emphasize the benefits of internal brand management and help managers to implement effective tools to increase their employees’ emotional bond with the brand and to enhance brand-strengthening behavior in a cross-cultural context.Assim como a gestão dos colaboradores de uma empresa é um fator estratégico de sucesso, também diversos investigadores se têm debruçado sobe o estudo da gestão interna da marca. No entanto, até agora, nenhum estudo se focou nos efeitos das características da cultura e dos colaboradores na relação com as três dimensões de gestão interna da marca – gestão da marca orientada aos recursos humanos, promoção da marca e liderança focada na marca – e nos seus dois resultados – compromisso com a marca e o comportamento cívico da marca. Para colmatar a falta de estudos científicos, este fenómeno é estudado através da comparação entre o contexto Português (país coletivista) e o contexto Alemão, através de um questionário online a cerca de 319 colaboradores. A análise concluiu que existe (1) um efeito significativo das três práticas sobre o compromisso para com a marca, enquanto (2) apenas a comunicação e o compromisso para com a marca afetam o comportamento de cidadania da mesma. Além disso, (3) a cultura modera a relação entre a liderança orientada para a marca e o compromisso da marca, enquanto (4) os antecedentes educacionais funcionam como um moderador da gestão de recursos humanos orientada para a marca e do comportamento da cidadania da marca. As descobertas reforçam os benefícios da gestão interna da marca e ajudam os gestores a desenvolver ferramentas eficazes para aumentar o vínculo emocional dos seus colaboradores com a marca e fortalecer o comportamento da marca num contexto multicultural

The influence of culture and ethical ideology on ethical decision making process of Malaysian managers

The ethical decision making (EDM) process of individuals has proven to be very challenging due to the multitude of complex and varied factors that contribute to this behaviour. Nevertheless, many theoretical frameworks have been proposed to describe such behaviour. Despite the increasing number of EDM models and practices, reports of unethical incidents and illegal behaviour, especially in organizations, continue to appear. This problem is in part related to the failure of EDM models that do not adequately explain the antecedent factors of ethical behaviour by individuals in organizations. As a result, there is a gap between theory and practice. Hence, the main objective of this study is to address these shortcomings by exploring and empirically examining the antecedents in the EDM process and by developing a behavioural model that encompasses a fully functional model of individual ethical behaviour.Furthermore, most of the major frameworks have been formulated from a Western perspective. The current research was conducted in the Malaysian context, using a model that accounts for cultural differences. The most generally accepted concept is that culture is a key determinant of an individual's ethical ideology, which affects an individual’s inclination to behave ethically. In other words, culture acts as a guideline in determining whether certain practices are appropriate and acceptable. However, individuals in organizations also have an obligation to comply the culture in their work setting. Therefore, the culture of ethical practices in an organization is expected to play an important role in the process of EDM. In addition, literature has established the moderating effect of gender, age and level of education in such behaviour. Therefore, the current research also further investigated the relationship among the components of the EDM process, which has thus far not been given proper attention.A two-phase sequential mixed-method approach, consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches, was carried out in this research. In the qualitative part, a field study of semi-structured interviews was conducted with the objective of testing the applicability of the initial model besides exploring the dimensionality of the construct. The data was analyzed using content analysis through Nvivo software. Based on the analysis, the dimensionality of the constructs was identified and two more relevant antecedent factors were detected, namely parental values and religiosity. Thus, these two factors were added to the comprehensive research model. A survey was conducted among managers from Malaysia large organizations to collect quantitative data. The data was analyzed using a Partial Least Square (PLS) based Structural Equations Modelling (SEM) tool. In addition, multi-group analysis of PLS was also employed.The major findings of this research have confirmed the influence of ethical ideology as the major determinant of the EDM process. Furthermore, results have demonstrated the role of culture as the antecedent of an individual’s ethical ideology. Interestingly, the influence of parental values and religiosity, which was derived from the field study, was also confirmed. Findings also verified the moderating effect of the organizational ethical culture in enhancing a moral awareness of an individual’s EDM process. With regards to the relationship among the components of the EDM process, findings revealed sequential and interrelationship links between the components. On the other hand, the moderating effect of gender, age and level of education in the EDM process was not detected. Overall results confirm the multidimensional construct and the complexity of such a process. This research provides a significant contribution to the existing knowledge in the EDM area. Most importantly, an understanding of the antecedents and the processes of EDM provides guidelines for organizations in developing better ethical programs and policies in order to promote and encourage ethical behaviour. Perhaps a major contribution of this research is the implication for managers to enhance the process of EDM in organizations

Market orientation of entrepreneurial university distance education and sustainable competitive advantage relationships: The mediating role of employee engagement

To be competitive in the distance education service delivery market, the need for a strategic approach by managers of these institutions to manage the increased competition cannot be compromised. Despite the available past and current studies on market orientation, the impact of market orientation on firms in the context of distance education is yet to be explored. Additionally, given the COVID crisis, the increasing reliance on distance education has resulted in a dynamic and turbulent environment in which market orientation assumes even greater importance. This study seeks to examine the mediating role of employee engagement in the link between market orientation and sustainable competitive advantage. Using the multistage sampling technique, 375 respondents were selected, consisting of key management and staff of a certain university's distance education programme. Analytically, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to address the various hypotheses of the study. Both customer and competitor orientations were found to have a significant positive effect on the university's sustainable competitive advantage. The study's outcomes will help shape policy and practise in distance education

IFPOC Symposium:Discovering antecedents and consequences of complex change recipients' reactions to organizational change.

IFPOC symposium: Discovering antecedents and consequences of complex change recipients' reactions to organizational change Chairs: Maria Vakola (Athens University of Economics and Business) & Karen Van Dam (Open University) Discussant: Mel Fugate (American University, Washington, D.C) State of the art Organisations are required to continuously change and develop but there is a high failure rate associated with change implementation success. In the past two decades, change researchers have started to investigate change recipients' reactions to change recognizing the crucial role of these reactions for successful change. This symposium aims at identifying and discussing the complex processes that underlie the relationships among antecedents, reactions and outcomes associated with organizational change. New perspective / contributions This symposium consists of five studies that extend our knowledge in the field by (i) providing an analysis of change recipients' reactions going beyond the dichotomous approaches (acceptance or resistance) (ii) revealing understudied antecedents-reactions and reactions-consequences patterns and relationships (iii) shedding light on the role of contextual factors i.e team climate and individual factors i.e emotion regulation on the adaptation to change. This symposium is based on a combination of both quantitative (i.e diary, survey) and qualitative (i.e interviews) research methodology. Research / practical implications This symposium aims to increase our understanding of the complex processes associated with change recipients' reactions to change. Discovering how these reactions are created and what are their results may reveal important contingencies that can explain how positive organizational outcomes during times of change can be stimulated which is beneficial for both researchers and practitioners