Why to gamify performance management? Consequences of user engagement in gamification

Gamification offers one of the most promising solutions for information technology (IT) managers to innovate performance management systems. Yet, evidence on its benefits is limited, and IT managers are left without a clear guidance on why to implement it. To solve the problem, this article shows the benefits of gamification for overall job performance and the intermediating mechanisms through which it exercises its advantageous effects. It is theorized that employees’ engagement in gamification favorably alters their cognitions, transferring their effect onto employee attitudes and behaviors in the workplace. First, user engagement in gamification alters cognitions about the performance management system, making employees perceive justice, which, in turn, affects their satisfaction with the performance system. Second, user engagement in gamification alters cognitions about the job, influencing the perceptions of job stressors that affect job satisfaction. Third, user engagement in gamification alters cognitions about the organization, making employees perceive organizational support, which translates into higher organizational commitment. The improved cognitions then transfer their beneficial effect onto overall job performance as justice is found to exercise a mediating effect. The findings from 268 employees in a human resource service organization support the hypotheses and provide concrete evidence for the benefits of gamification in performance management.     

Does job insecurity hinder innovative work behaviour? A threat rigidity perspective

Current work life is characterized by globalization, technological changes and the aftermath of the economic recession, thereby increasing the need for organizations to be innovative to maintain their competitive position. At the same time, this turbulent organizational landscape gave rise to perceptions of job insecurity (JI), that is, the subjectively perceived likelihood of involuntary job loss. The present study investigates whether job insecurity relates to innovative work behaviour (IWB) and introduces threat rigidity theory as an explanatory framework for this relationship. Based on this theory, we propose a serial mediation model, in which job insecurity relates to an increase in irritation, which subsequently relates to a decrease in concentration, resulting in a decrease in both dimensions of IWB, namely idea generation and idea implementation. By means of survey data from 394 Dutch‐speaking Belgian employees, we used structural equation modelling to compute our mediation analyses (bootstrapping method). Our findings are in line with threat rigidity theory, as the results demonstrate that the threat of job loss impairs employees' innovativeness through increased irritation and decreased concentration. This study contributes to job insecurity as well as IWB research, by introducing a process model that sheds light on job insecurity outcomes and antecedents of IWB.     

On the Relation of Job Insecurity,Job Autonomy,Innovative Work Behaviour and the Mediating Effect of Work Engagement

European policy is focusing on innovation as a way out of the economic crisis. At the same time, job insecurity is rising as Europe is still in crisis. In this paper, we examine whether job insecurity affects the innovative work behaviour of employees by focusing on the relation between job insecurity, job autonomy, work engagement and innovative work behaviour (IWB). Using employee level survey data, we use structural equation modelling to disentangle the relations between these variables. The partially mediated model shows the best fit with the data. This model shows that job insecurity and autonomy are both directly and indirectly, through work engagement, related with IWB. For autonomy these relations are positive, while they are negative (and smaller) for job insecurity. Moreover, a negative covariance is observed between job insecurity and autonomy.     

Not All Autonomy is the Same. Different Dimensions of Job Autonomy and Their Relation to Work Engagement & Innovative Work Behavior

Job autonomy is a key enabling factor for employee engagement and innovative employee behavior. Although job autonomy used to be viewed as a multi‐dimensional construct, there has been little recent discussion on the different dimensions of job autonomy and how they relate to employee outcomes. This study uses a sample of 927 employees from different sectors to research the relation between autonomy regarding the (1) work method, (2) work scheduling, (3) work time and (4) place of work and two main employee outcomes: work engagement (WE) and innovative work behavior (IWB). The results show that all studied dimensions of autonomy are bivariatly related to higher levels of WE and IWB. Yet, when simultaneously analyzing the dimensions of job autonomy using structural equations modelling, most of the effects become insignificant. For WE, only the effect of work method autonomy is statistically significant. For IWB, work method and locational autonomy play a positive role. This signals that the current managerial attention for, e.g., work time autonomy (flexitime) does only contribute to enhanced work engagement and IWB insofar as such a systems result in higher work method autonomy.     

The effects of organizational learning environment factors on e-learning acceptance

Workplace learning is an important means of employees’ continuous learning and professional development. E-learning is being recognized as an important supportive practice for learning at work. Current research on the success factors of e-learning in the workplace has emphasized on employees’ characteristics, technological attributes, and training design elements, with little attention to workplace contextual effects. The study aims to investigate the impacts of organizational learning environment factors, including managerial support, job support, and organizational support, on employees’ motivation to use a workplace e-learning system. A model was proposed based on the expectancy theory of training motivation and the social influences and facilitating conditions in technology acceptance models. The model was tested on sample data collected from mainland China using Structural Equation Modeling and Moderated Structural Equation Modeling. The results suggested that employees’ perceived managerial support and job support had a significant impact on their perceived usefulness of the e-learning system for individual learning, and that perceived organizational support had a significant influence on the perceived usefulness of the e-learning system for social learning. Perceived usefulness for individual learning was found to completely mediate the environmental influences on individuals’ motivation to use the system, while perceived usefulness for social learning made partial mediation in the effects of the environmental factors on intention to use. In addition, perceived job support was found to have moderating effects on the relationship between employees’ perceived usefulness of the e-learning system and their intention to use the system. Consistent with previous findings, employees’ perceptions about the usefulness of the e-learning system have significant effects on their intention to use the system in the work setting.     

If it's fair,I’ll share: The effect of perceived knowledge validation justice on contributions to an organizational knowledge repository

The organizational value of an electronic knowledge repository depends on the degree to which it offers high quality knowledge to its users. Validation procedures are implemented to monitor and ensure the quality of submitted content. However, if perceived as unreasonable or unfair, validation can have the unintended effect of discouraging employee contributions. Drawing on organizational justice and fairness literatures, we show that both quality perceptions and contribution behaviors are positively influenced by perceived procedural justice of validation, which, in turn, is influenced by perceived informational and interpersonal justice. Implications for organizational knowledge management research and practice are discussed.     

Organizational influences on the work life conflict and health of shiftworkers

This study examined organizational factors affecting the impact of shiftwork on work life conflict and subjective health. A model was proposed in which support from supervisors, support from colleagues, and team identity influence time-based work life conflict through two mediating variables: team climate and control over the working environment. Reduced conflict, in turn, produces enhanced psychological well-being and diminished physical symptoms. A structural equation model based on survey data from 530 nurses supported the proposed model. It also identified unpredicted direct links between team identity and physical symptoms, and between supervisor support and both control over the work environment and psychological well-being. The results indicate that organizational interventions focused on social support, team identity, team climate, and control can diminish the negative effects of shiftwork on work life conflict and health in shiftworkers.     

A model of organizational employees’ e-learning systems acceptance

This study examines the factors that influence employees’ adoption and use of e-learning systems and tests the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM) in the organizational context. We examined the relationship of employees’ perceptions of their behavioral intention to use e-learning systems in terms of four determinants (individual, organizational, task characteristics, and subjective norm), to further explore the effects of management and organizational support on the subjective norm. Data were 357 valid questionnaires from four industries in Taiwan. The findings indicate that organizational support and management support significantly affected perceived usefulness and intention to use. Individuals’ experience with computers and computer self-efficacy had significantly positive effects on perceived ease of use. Task equivocality significantly influenced perceived usefulness. Organizational and management supports significantly impacted the subjective norm, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and intention to use. Additionally, the results suggest that external variables that affect perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and intention to use, need to be considered as important factors in the process of designing, implementing, and operating e-learning systems. The results provided a more comprehensive insight of individual, organizational, and task characteristics in predicting e-learning acceptance behavior in the organizational contexts, rarely tested in previous studies. By considering these identified factors, practitioners can take corresponding measures to predict or promote organizational employees’ e-learning systems acceptance more effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, by explaining employees’ acceptance behavior, the findings of this research help to develop more user-friendly e-learning systems and provide insight into the best way to promote e-learning systems for employees.     

Adding contextual specificity to the technology acceptance model

This paper examines the influence of contextual specificity when describing technology acceptance. Social cognitive theory provides the basis for adding several independent variables (computer anxiety, prior experience, other’s use, organizational support, task structure, and system quality) and one intervening variable (computer-efficacy) to the technology acceptance model (TAM). This extended model was tested using a mail survey and the results are tabulated using partial least squares. The results show that system usage is strongly influenced by computer anxiety, prior experience, other’s use, organizational support, task structure, system quality, and perceived usefulness. In addition, perceived usefulness is the strongest mediator in determining system usage.     

Autonomy and procedural justice in strategic systems planning

Job characteristics and procedural justice theories offer an avenue through which to better understand the effectiveness of the strategic planning of decision support and other information systems in the subsidiaries of multinational firms. The first theory suggests that greater autonomy leads to greater perceptions of fair treatment, and the second suggests that perceptions of fair treatment lead to greater commitment and performance. A postal survey of 130 chief information officers of the US subsidiaries of multinational firms collected data to test hypotheses based on the theory. Data analysis using partial least squares tested a high‐level model and a decomposed model. The high‐level model revealed that a second order strategic systems planning (SSP) autonomy construct predicted the perceptions of procedural justice, procedural justice predicted a second order SSP construct, and the SSP construct predicted SSP effectiveness. The decomposed model showed that autonomy in the especially creative strategy conception phase of planning predicted procedural justice. Procedural justice predicted all of the phases of SSP, while the strategy selection phase alone led to planning effectiveness. These findings underscore the impact of the autonomy to be creative and of the sense of fair treatment, both within the context of limited autonomy for the choice of the strategy. They highlight the impact of the choice of the strategy in contrast to other planning phases, and perhaps most importantly, they argue for local control of the planning process.     

Psychological Contract and Turnover Intention in the Information Technology Profession

The recruitment and retention of Information Technology (IT) professionals continue to concern organizations and researchers. We employ psychological contract theory to examine how unmet expectations may influence psychological contract breach and turnover intention. The results of a survey of IT professionals indicate four factors contributing to IT workers’ perceptions of psychological contract breach including perceived supervisor support, emotional dissonance, work exhaustion, and salary. Further, autonomy moderates the relationship between psychological contract breach and turnover intention.     

Clarifying the effects of Internet monitoring on job attitudes: The mediating role of employee trust

The Internet is a fast growing mechanism for providing workplace monitoring. We examined how its implementation affects employees’ trust in the organization. We hypothesized that giving employees advance notice of monitoring and providing them a justification for it would enhance their trust. We investigated how employees’ perceptions of organizational support prior to monitoring moderated these relationships by conducting a longitudinal field experiment. We found that advance notice and perceived organizational support exerted significant main and interactive effects on post-implementation trust. In turn, trust significantly affected employees’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions.     

Organizational Antecedents of Creative Self‐Efficacy

A number of studies have documented a relationship between creative self‐efficacy and creative performance. The main aim of the present study was to investigate organizational factors that may influence such creative self‐efficacy. The examined variables included employees' task type and task autonomy, the quality of relationship between supervisors and subordinates (leader–member exchange [LMX]), as well as perceived levels of collegial support for creativity. The sample included 240 employees in a manufacturing company. The hypotheses were tested using partial least squares analysis. Results showed significant and positive relationships between the study variables and creative self‐efficacy, supporting the hypotheses. Furthermore, the combinations of task autonomy and high‐quality LMX, as well as task autonomy and collegial support for creativity, were positively associated with creative self‐efficacy. The results of this study may give guidance to leaders and consultants who want to enhance the creativity levels of employees through organizational development efforts.     

The Impact of Specific Job Stressors on Psychological Contract Breach and Violation

This study investigated whether environmental stressors predict perceptions of psychological contract breach and associated feelings of violation in employees from a large manufacturing organization. It was proposed that increasing levels of job stress as a result of changes in the employment context may account for the rising incidence of perceived contract breach. The results suggest that breach and violation are more likely when employees are experiencing role conflict, perceive a lack of career progression, and perceive a lack of control over work. Further, control was found to moderate the relationship between stress and breach. This study has important practical implications, suggesting ways in which organizations may be able to reduce the likelihood of psychological contract breach and violation.     

Burnout and innovative work behaviours for survivors of downsizing: An investigation of boundary conditions

The purpose of this study is to explore conditions in which innovative behaviour can have either desirable or undesirable effects. The current study surveyed employees who remained in an organization following downsizing. Voice costs and perceived influence were measured as boundary conditions. Based on our understanding of Conservation of Resources theory, these variables may be particularly important to consider how individuals view innovative work behaviours in stressful situations such as experiencing downsizing. The results of this study revealed that engagement in innovative work behaviours (IWB) was associated with reduced burnout in employees when they perceived few costs of speaking up in the post downsized environment, but at very high perceptions of voice cost (above 1.74 standard deviations above the mean), this relationship was positive. Similarly, and contrary to what was expected, engagement in IWB was negatively related to burnout when employees perceived they had little influence within the organization. We discuss possible interpretations of this unexpected result. This study adds to the small body of work that examines outcomes, rather than predictors, of innovative behaviour and also identifies conditions in which engaging in innovative behaviours has a negative impact on the individual.     

An investigation of the impact of abusive supervision on technology end-users

Although they are likely to occur in many organizations, few research efforts have examined the impact of negative supervisor behaviors on technology end-users. In this study we investigate abusive supervision, and the effects it has on perceptions about the work and psychological, attitudinal, and behavioral intention outcomes. Our sample consisted of 225 technology end-users from a large variety of organizations. Results revealed that abusive supervision has a positive impact on perceived pressure to produce, time pressure, and work overload, and a negative impact on liking computer work, and ultimately these variables impact job strain, frustration, turnover intentions, and job satisfaction.     

Impact of Lean Production on Perceived Job Autonomy and Job Satisfaction: An Experimental Study

Previous studies have indicated positive and negative effects of lean production on employees’ perceived work characteristics and job attitudes. The most detrimental consequence of lean production is a decrease in the perceived job autonomy of workshop employees. To reduce these negative consequences, we propose human resource practices for integration with lean production. Drawing on the job characteristics model, we hypothesized that the implementation of lean production combined with human resource practices would enhance perceived job autonomy, job satisfaction, and operational performance. To evaluate our hypotheses, we used an experimental design consisting of a simulation game that mimics a manufacturing company. We implemented lean production combined with human resource practices in this simulated company. The results indicated a significant increase in perceived job autonomy, job satisfaction, and operational performance. Moreover, the results revealed a positive relationship between job satisfaction and operational performance.     

Evaluating Initial Public Acceptance of Highly and Fully Autonomous Vehicles

ABSTRACT

The autonomous vehicle (AV) is expected to dramatically increase road safety. Understanding the public’s initial perceptions and acceptance of AV is imperative because these aspects are likely to determine the future evolution of AVs. This study focuses on public perceptions and acceptance of the two highest levels of vehicle automation – highly autonomous vehicle (HAV) and fully autonomous vehicle (FAV). We drew from the conversation on trust and developed a psychological model to explain three acceptance measures, namely, general acceptance, behavioral intention to use, and willingness to pay (WTP). Using a between-subject survey (N = 742), we determined that the respondents held a stronger belief of benefits from FAV than from HAV. Trust in AV retained a direct effect as well as an indirect effect (mainly through perceived benefit) on the three acceptance measures. In comparison with perceived risk, perceived benefit exerted a higher direct effect on AV acceptance and a higher mediating effect on the trust–acceptance relationship. A prediction analysis further demonstrated that the model exhibited acceptable predictive capability for public acceptance. We drew certain implications for increasing AV acceptance.     

Impact of the quality of information products on information system users' job satisfaction: an empirical investigation

Abstract. In recent years, researchers and practitioners have paid increasing attention to the effects of information systems on work-related outcomes. The purpose of the reported research is to investigate the influence of information systems on work-related outcomes. A model is derived from prior research that considers direct effects of quality of information product on job satisfaction along with indirect effects through role conflict and role ambiguity. Results from a field study of 368 users indicated that quality of information product has a positive relationship with job satisfaction. However, role ambiguity and role conflict mediated this relationship. A causal path model identified that quality of information product influenced job satisfaction through role conflict and role ambiguity. Role conflict and role ambiguity fully mediated the relationship between quality of information product and job satisfaction. The results identify the role of information systems in influencing users' work related outcomes. In view of the importance of job satisfaction in motivating employees, IS designers and researchers should pay greater attention to the need for designing quality systems that not only meet their primary information delivery objectives, but also take into account the task and organizational design issues that may influence the work environment of users.     

Job performance through mobile enterprise systems: The role of organizational agility,location independence,and task characteristics

This study examines how organizational workers improve their perceived job performance through the use of Mobile Enterprise Systems (MES), while also investigating the impact of perceived organizational agility and location independence on technology acceptance of MES. This study also tests the moderating role of task characteristics (task significance and feedback) on the relationship between MES usage and perceived job performance. Based on the extant technology acceptance model (TAM), we proposed an extended TAM and conducted a large-scale survey among organizational workers who use MES in their workplace across industries. Our findings suggest that both positive attitude toward MES and a high level of habitual MES usage are positively associated with perceived job performance, and that task characteristics positively moderate the relationship between habitual usage (attitude toward MES) and perceived job performance. More importantly, we also found that organizational agility is positively associated with both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, while location independence is positively associated with perceived ease of use. The present findings provide us with a deeper understanding of how organizational workers utilize MES and how they improve their perceived job performance through the use of MES. Based on these findings, we discuss further implications and limitations.