Maryam Tehrani; Yousef Vakili; Mohammad Bagher Kambarani
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTION
The invention of the Internet and the use of this phenomenon in organizations greatly helped business affairs. In addition to the role it can play, it may create major problems for organizations. For example, the Internet can provide an opportunity for employees to engage in ...
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1- INTRODUCTION
The invention of the Internet and the use of this phenomenon in organizations greatly helped business affairs. In addition to the role it can play, it may create major problems for organizations. For example, the Internet can provide an opportunity for employees to engage in non-work-related activities. Although non-work-related tasks were possible for employees before the invention of the Internet (such as reading newspapers, reading books, and talking on the phone), the Internet has increased this possibility by providing new conditions at the workplace. In other words, cyberloafing, a product of the age of communication technology, is an anti-productive deviant behavior against organizational norms that ultimately costs the organization.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Aimed at clarifying the reasons for it, previous studies have been mainly focused on Internet browsing behaviors. Therefore, the current research emphasizes important points such as how cyberloafing occurs, how it spreads, and the consequences of this phenomenon for employees and organizations. This is an important topic for research because of the recent increase in per capita internet usage in the country. Accordingly, the main purpose of the current research is to identify the antecedents and consequences of employees' cyberloafing in the Academic Jihad Organization of Tehran.
3- METHODOLOGY
The current research is an applied study in terms of purpose, and in regards to the method, was a mixed study. In the qualitative phase, a 7-step meta-synthesis method was used to identify the antecedents and consequences of cyberloafing. Qualitative data were gathered from domestic and international databases, which were sampled using the criteria-based purposeful sampling method. Within-subject agreement strategy of two coders was used to determine the reliability of the qualitative data. In the quantitative phase, a multi-stage Fuzzy Delphi technique was used to screen and confirm the findings of the meta-synthesis. In this phase, the statistical population was comprised of the experts of the Tehran Academic Jihad Organization.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Thirteen basic and 44 primary themes were identified and categorized into three components for antecedents of cyberloafing. Cyberloafing consequences were placed in four categories from 11 basic and 31 primary themes. Then, the fuzzy Delphi method was used to obtain the opinions of experts and specialists to confirm the identified components. The factors of confronting the organization, finding friends, and having few interactions with colleagues were confirmed as antecedents, while the factor of improving work relations was removed due to low importance. The second round of fuzzy Delphi reaffirmed the components of the first round. The antecedents of cyberloafing have been classified into three categories of structural, behavioral, and environmental factors. The negative consequences of cyberloafing were divided into two categories of organizational and personal damage. However, at the same time, the results showed that internet browsing could sometimes bring positive outcomes for organizations. If cyberloafing happens temporarily during long and exhausting working hours can recover the employees' strength and energy.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
The results of the current research indicated that the expansion of social networks, the ease of employees' access to the Internet, and the lack of adequate monitoring and accurate evaluation of employees can increase cyberloafing. However, surfing the Internet during working hours can be a way to escape from the employees' mental conflicts caused by the economic pressures governing society. Moreover, the mismatch of working conditions with the physical and mental characteristics of employees, which is the result of the lack of meritocracy in recruiting employees, can cause a lack of motivation in performing assigned tasks. Another important factor is employees' extremism in cyberloafing, which may be the result of the lack of appropriate socialization or an undesirable organizational culture. On the other hand, the employees' desire to increase information and self-awareness can be considered a positive motive for surfing the Internet during working hours that increases their abilities and creativity. In summary, the research results helping organizations' managers in dealing with employees' cyberloafing are as follows. First, the structural, behavioral, and environmental aspects of cyberloafing can increase managers' awareness of this phenomenon. Second, the cyberloafing consequences are not necessarily harmful to the organization but may lead to personal growth, development, and recovery. Third, managers should examine and analyze the factors affecting this phenomenon in the environment of their own organization based on their employees' emotions and feelings.
Maryam Tehrani; Fatemeh Alipour; Leila Shafeie
Abstract
Extended abstract1- INTRODUCTIONOne of the most important challenges of complicated environments for organizations is to make a balance between discovering and innovative activities called ambidexterity. Organizational ambidexterity has a positive relationship with organizational growth, technical innovation, ...
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Extended abstract1- INTRODUCTIONOne of the most important challenges of complicated environments for organizations is to make a balance between discovering and innovative activities called ambidexterity. Organizational ambidexterity has a positive relationship with organizational growth, technical innovation, and financial performance. Generally, those managers who have failed in implementing ambidexterity seem to be unable to utilize their capacity and provide needed resources. Of most important affecting factors, one can refer to domination of organizational silence and the lack of employees’ participation in decision-making processes. Nowadays, leading is considered as the most important role of managers, and organizations seek those managers of having ability to lead as well as integrate different organizational activities, coordinate subsidiary units, and control deviances. Therefore, studying and utilizing the ambidextrous leadership style is of special importance. Despite the importance of ambidextrous leadership in achieving organizational goals, no study has yet investigated its increasing effect on employees’ silence and the mediation role of psychological empowerment and social capital. Therefore, the current research was aimed to study the effect of ambidextrous leadership on employees’ silence considering the mediation of psychological empowerment and social capital in Pars Oil Company. 2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKAmbidexterity is the ability to simultaneously utilizing the activities of exploration and exploitation and coordinating them in a flexible manner. Ambidextrous leadership is known as the ability to create explorative and exploitative behaviors in employees through providing the possibility of flexible improvement and adjustment of these two behaviors. This leadership style consists of three elements: 1) open leadership behaviors, 2) close leadership behaviors, and 3) the ability to flexible shift between them. Social capital is defined as a set of resources embedded in the relationship between an employee and the organization or those resources which are accessible because of this relationship. Psychological empowerment is defined as a process of increasing employees’ self-efficacy by identifying the situations that cause power instability or loss of power. Finally, employees’ silence is defined as a refusal of stating the reality about the emotional appraisal of the organization to those managers and employees who seem to be capable of change or compensate the situations.3- METHODOLOGYThe current research was an applied study in terms of purpose, and in terms of data collection method, it was a descriptive survey. According to Cochran's formula, a total of 132 people were selected as the statistical sample by conducting simple random sampling. The data collection tool was a 52-item questionnaire of having 5-point Likert scales and 133 questionnaires were finally collected. Obtained data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in SmartPLS software.4- RESULTS & DISCUSSIONResearch findings showed that ambidextrous leadership had a positive and significant effect on psychological empowerment. In this regard, it can be said that, by providing freedom for employees to do things and providing them with feedback in the case of problems, the ambidextrous leadership style can improve employees’ behaviors and increase their capabilities. The decreasing effect of psychological empowerment on employee silence was not confirmed. The reason for this insignificance may be the absence of other intervening variables. On the other hand, ambidextrous leadership significantly affected the social capital and social capital reduced the employees’ silence. Therefore, social capital creates a common language for emotional relationships between employees, in which they can easily express their opinions and suggestions and are less inclined to remain silent.5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONSAccording to research findings, the understudy organization should focus on improving the leadership ability of managers in different organizational levels by approaching the ambidextrous leadership style. Furthermore, future researches are suggested to study a bigger statistical population and consider moderator variables (such as age, gender, education, and organizational climate and culture) or mediator variables (such as job satisfaction, commitment, and motivation) that have the potential to affect the ambidextrous leadership-psychological empowerment relationship.