Investigating the Effect of Ambidextrous Leadership on Employees’ Silence Mediated by Psychological Empowerment and Social Capital

Document Type : Articles

Authors

• Maryam Tehrani ¹
• Fatemeh Alipour ²
• Leila Shafeie ²

¹ Assistant professor in Management, Kharazmi University

² M.Sc. in Strategic management, Kharazmi University

https://doi.org/10.22067/tmj.2020.39994

Abstract

1- INTRODUCTION
One 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 FRAMEWORK
Ambidexterity 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- METHODOLOGY
The 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 & DISCUSSION
Research 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 & SUGGESTIONS
According 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.

Keywords

• Ambidextrous leadership
• Employees’ silence
• Pars Oil Company
• Psychological empowerment
• social capital

References

Abdollahi, B. (2005). Psychological empowerment: dimensions and validation on the structural equation model. Quarterly Journal of Research and Planning in Higher Education, 11(2), 37-64. (in Persian)

Alguezaui, S., & Filieri, R. (2010). Investigating the role of social capital in innovation: sparse versus dense network, Journal of Knowledge Management, 14(6), 891-909.

Alvani, M., & Sayed Vaghavi, A. (2004). Social capital: Concepts and theories. Journal of Management Studies, 9(33), 34, 3-26. (in Persian)

Appuhami, R. (2017). Exploring the relationship between strategic performance measurement systems and managers' creativity: the mediating role of psychological empowerment and organisational learning. Accounting & Finance, 1-33.

Ardakani, SH.; Sepehrtaj, F., & Niknamjoo, M. (2018). Role of servant leadership in organizational silence by mediating role of social capital, organizational trust and organizational justice in public libraries of Yazd province. Scientific Quarterly Journal of Libraries, Museums and Documents of Aatan Quds Razavi, 21(3), 125-153. (in Persian)

Ashforth, B. E. (1989). The experience of powerlessness in organizations, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 43(2), 207-242.

Awan, U.; Kraslawski, A., & Huiskonen, J. (2018). The effects of an ambidextrous leadership on the relationship between governance mechanism and social sustainability. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, (238), 398-407.

Baojuan, Y., & Qing, Z. (2017). The effect of psychological empowerment on job satisfaction of principals in rural school: The mediating role of professional identity and the moderation role of emotion intelligence. Journal of Psychological Science, (3), 027.

Baron, R., & Kenny, D. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psycholigical research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6),1173-1182.

Barton, H., & Barton, L. C. (2011). Trust and psychological empowerment in the Russian work context. Human Resource Management Review, 21(3), 201-208.

Benner, M. J., & Tushman, M. L. (2003). Exploitation, exploration, and process management: The productivity dilemma revisited. Academy of Management Review, 28(2), 238-256.‏

Bledow, R.; Frese, M., & Mueller, V. (2011). Ambidextrous leadership for innovation: The influence of culture. In Advances in Global Leadership, 41-69.

Bolino, M. C.; Turnley, W. H., & Bloodgood, J. M. (2002). Citizenship behavior and the creation of social capital in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 27(4), 505-522.

Bormann, K. C., & Rowold, J. (2016). Ethical leadership’s potential and boundaries in organizational change: a moderated mediation model of employee silence. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 30(3-4), 225-245.

Brinsfield, C. T. (2013). Employee silence motives: Investigation of dimensionality and development of measures. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(5), 671-697.

Bucic, T.; Robinson, L., & Ramburuth, P. (2010). Effects of leadership style on team learning. Journal of Workplace Learning, 22(4), 228-248.

Cetin, A. (2020). Organizational silence and organizational commitment: A study of Turkish sport managers. Annuals of Applied Sport Science, 8(2), 0-10.

Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, (94), 95-120.

Conger, J. A., & Kanungo, R. N. (1988). The empowerment process: integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 13(3), 471-482.

Deci, E. L.; Connell, J. P., & Ryan, R. M. (1989). Self-determination in a work organization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74(4), 580.

Donaghey, J.; Cullinane, N.; Dundon, T., & Wilkinson, A. (2011). Reconceptualising employee silence: Problems and prognosis. Work, Employment and Society, 25(1), 51-67.

Dostar, M., & Esmaeilzadeh, M. (2013). Organizational justice and its effect on employees voice and performance. Journal of Management Studies, 23,(72), 143-63. (in Persian)

Dyne, L. V.; Ang, S., & Botero, I. C. (2003). Conceptualizing employee silence and employee voice as multidimensional constructs. Journal of Management Studies, 40(6), 1359-1392.

Ergeneli, A.; Arı, G. S. l., & Metin, S. (2007). Psychological empowerment and its relationship to trust in immediate managers. Journal of Business Research, 60(1), 41-49.

Erkutlu, H., & Chafra, J. (2018). Leader’s integrity and employee silence in healthcare organizations. Leadership in Health Services.

Fock, H.; Chiang, F.; Au, K. Y., & Hui, M. K. (2011). The moderating effect of collectivistic orientation in psychological empowerment and job satisfaction relationship. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30(2), 319-328.

Gaminian, V. (2003). Empowerment in Education. Journal of Management in Education, (25), 26. (in Persian)

Gerlach, F.; Hundeling, M., & Rosing, K. (2020). Ambidextrous leadership and innovation performance: a longitudinal study. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.‏

Ghorbaniizade, V., & Khaleghiniya, S. (2009). The role of implicit knowledge transfer in employee empowerment. Journal of Human Resources Management Researches, Imam Hossein University of Medical Sciences, 1(2), 85-105. (in Persian).

Gibson, C. B., & Birkinshaw, J. (2004). The antecedents, consequences, and mediating role of organizational ambidexterity. Academy of Management Journal, 47(2), 209-226.

Gist, M. E. (1987). Self-efficacy: Implications for organizational behavior and human resource management. Academy of Management Review, 12(3), 472-485.

Gudarzi, F. (2017). Human capital relationship and job performance (case study: boroujerd islamic azad university). Public Policy in Management, 8(12), 175-189. (in Persian)

Hair, J. F.; Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 19(2), 139-152.

Haskins, M. E., & Freeman, R. E. (2015). What managers should never want to hear: silence. Management Decision, 53(6), 1300-1311.

Heydari Sourshajani, N.; Ahmadi, M., & Abdolmaleki, J. (2019). The role of social capital in school managers’ organizational silence. The First National Conference of Future School. (in Persian)

Hesam, S., & raeesi, D. (2016). The relationship between social capital, organizational commitment and organizational silence in selected training hospitals in Shiraz city. International Journal of Advanced Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 3(11), 2933-2939.

Heydarishureshjani, N.; Bijan, R., & Safari, Y. (2015). The relationship between dimensions of social capital and organizational structure among employees of Kermanshah university of medical sciences. Leadership Research and Educational Management, 2(6), 123-177. (in Persian)

Holmqvist, M. (2004). Experiential learning processes of exploitation and exploration within and between organizations: an empirical study of product development. Organization Science, 15(1), 70-81.

Javed, B.; Khan, A. A.; Bashir, S., & Arjoon, S. (2017). Impact of ethical leadership on creativity: the role of psychological empowerment. Current Issues in Tourism, 20(8), 839-851. 

Kassani, A.; Menati, R.; Menati, V.; Shoja, M., & Mirbalouch, A. (2014). Investigation of the effective factors in social capital and its relationship with quality of life in elders of ILAM, IRAN. Sadra Medical Sciences Journal, 2(3), 235-244. (in Persian)

Kassotaki, O. (2018). Ambidextrous leadership in high technology organizations. Organizational Dynamics,1-7.

Khodadadi, S.; Moradi, M., & Yakideh, K. (2018). Investigating the relationship between organizational ambidexterity and performance-related dimensions in banking industry (Case Study: Gilan Bank Branches). Industrial Management Journal, 10(1), 85-100.

Khosravi, S., & Niknami, M. (2017). An investigation of the factors affecting social capital improvement among rural islamic council members of Tehran. Journal of Iranian Social Development Studies, 9(4), 83-92. (in Persian)

Kung, C. W.; Uen, J. F., & Lin, S. C. (2020). Ambidextrous leadership and employee innovation in public museums. Chinese Management Studies.‏

Leach, D. J.; Wall, T. D., & Jackson, P. R. (2003). The effect of empowerment on job knowledge: an empirical test involving operators of complex technology. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 76(1), 27-52.

Lee, D. S., & Lee, K. C. (2012). Exploitation and exploration as links between psychological empowerment and creativity. in Embedded and Multimedia Computing Technology and Service, 213-220.

Liu, C.-H. (2017). The relationships among intellectual capital, social capital, and performance-The moderating role of business ties and environmental uncertainty. Tourism Management, (61), 553-561.

Ma, J.; Zhou, X.; Chen, R., & Dong, X. (2019). Does ambidextrous leadership motivate work crafting?. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 77, 159-168.‏

Mahdavi, M., & Khalili, E. (2010). Investigating the Factors Affecting Social Capital of Tehrani Citizens. Journal of Contemporary Sociology, 2(2), 119-143. (in Persian)

Martínez-Climent, C.; Rodríguez-García, M., & Zeng, J. (2019). Ambidextrous leadership, social entrepreneurial orientation, and operational performance. Sustainability, 11(3), 890.‏

Mazaheri, S.; Nazem, F., & Abolmaali, K. (2018). Identifying the effective factors of organizational silence from the viewpoint of specialists in the field of educational management: qualitative research. Journal of Marine Science & Research, 5(2), 71-87. (in Persian)

Mehrabi, F. (2013). The relatoinship between leadership styles and organizational silence and its effect on employees motivaiotn and job satisfaction of Iran Insurance Company. A dessertaion for the degreee of MS, Alameh Tabatabaei University, Faculty of Management and Accounting. (in Persian)

Moazen Jamshidi, M., & Haghparast Kenarsari, N. (2015). Evaluating the impact of social capital on employees’ creativity (Case study: electrical and electronic household appliances manufacturing companies in Iran). Social Capital Management, 2(1), 49-74. (in Persian)

Morrison, E. W., & Milliken, F. J. (2000). Organizational silence: A barrier to change and development in a pluralistic world. Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 706-725.

Naghshbandi, S.; Yousefi, B., & Zardoshtian, Sh.. (2017). The effect of social capital on organizational silence of employees in sport and youth offices in west Iran. Sport Physiology & Management Investigations, 9(2), 169-181. (in Persian)

Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(2), 242-266.

Nassar, M. A. (2017). Psychological empowerment and organisational change among hotel employees in Egypt. Research in Hospitality Management, 7(2), 91-98.

Niehoff, B. P.; Moorman, R. H.; Blakely, G., & Fuller, J. (2001). The influence of empowerment and job enrichment on employee loyalty in a downsizing environment. Group & Organization Management, 26(1), 93-113.

Oliayi, F. (2016). The effect of managers 'bullying behaviors on employees' silence. Master's thesis. Allameh Tabataba'i University. (in Persian)

Pinder, C. C., & Harlos, K. P. (2001). Employee silence: quiescence and acquiescence as responses to perceived injustice. In Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 331-369.

Pradhan, R. K.; Panda, M., & Jena, L. K. (2017). Transformational leadership and psychological empowerment: The mediating effect of organizational culture in Indian retail industry. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 30(1), 82-95.

Putnam, R. D.; Leonardi, R., & Nanetti, R. Y. (1994). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy: Princeton university press.

Rahimi-Dadkan, N., & Nastiezaie, N. (2017). Relationship among occupational adjustment, psychological empowerment and Job burnout in faculty members. Research in Medical Education, 8(4), 19-28.

Rahimi, G., & Mazaherirad, H. (2017). The effect of transformational leadership on organizational silence with the interpersonal role of employee psychological empowerment. Journal of Research Nation, 2(22), 157-175. (in Persian)

Rai, A., & Agarwal, U. A. (2018). Workplace bullying and employee silence: A moderated mediation model of psychological contract violation and workplace friendship. Personnel Review, 47(1), 226-256.

Rosing, K.; Frese, M., & Bausch, A. (2011). Explaining the heterogeneity of the leadership-innovation relationship: Ambidextrous leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(5), 956-974.

Saiedi, M. (2013). Impact of social capital dimensions on the performance of imported and exported companies in the Bushehr province, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr. (in Persian).

Sharifi Eskandari, A. (2014). Studying the relationship between organiational sileice and job burnout of employees in the young and sport office of Hamadan. Bouali Sina University of Hamadan, Faculty of physical education and sport sciences. (in Persian)

Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442-1465.

Tanhaei, M. H.; Nasre Esfahani, A.; Nilipour Tabatabaei, A., & Akhavan Sarraf, A. R. (2019). Recreation of antecedents and consequences of employees' organizational silence case study: Isfahan Municipality. Journal of Applied Sociology, 29(4), 147-166. (in Persian)

Tasavori, M.; Zaefarian, R., & Eng, T.-Y. (2018). Internal social capital and international firm performance in emerging market family firms: The mediating role of participative governance. International Small Business Journal , 36(8), 887-910.

Thomas, K. W., & Velthouse, B. A. (1990). Cognitive elements of empowerment: an “interpretive” model of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of Management Review, 15(4), 666-681.

Tuan Luu, T. (2017). Ambidextrous leadership, entrepreneurial orientation, and operational performance: organizational social capital as a moderator. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 38(2), 229-253.

Tung, F.-C. (2016). Does transformational, ambidextrous, transactional leadership promote employee creativity? Mediating effects of empowerment and promotion focus. International Journal of Manpower, 37(8), 1250-1263.

Tyagi, P. (2017). Linking psychological empowerment to individual performance: an attempt to empower R&D Professionals at THSTI. Asian Journal of Research in Business Economics and Management, 7(3), 125-134.

Yan, M.; Yu, Y., & Dong, X. (2016). Contributive roles of multilevel organizational learning for the evolution of organizational ambidexterity. Information Technology People, 29(3), 647-667.

Yavarian, S.; Abad, H. S. E., & Lou, S. T. (2017). Forecasting organizational silence according to moral behavior styles. Bali Medical Journal, 6(3), 457-464.

Yazdanshenas, M. (2017). The effect of ambidextrous leadership on working attitudes, the moderating role of social capital and self-efficacy. Social Capital Management, 4(4), 527-545. (in Persian)

Zacher, H., & Rosing, K. (2015). Ambidextrous leadership and team innovation. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(1), 54-68.

Zehir, C., & Erdogan, E. (2011). The association between organizational silence and ethical leadership through employee performance. Procedia-social and Behavioral Sciences, (24), 1389-1404.

Zhang, Y.-j.; Li, Y.-f.; Cui, C.-y., & Jin, C.-d. (2018). A study on correlation between psychological empowerment, self-esteem and innovative behavior among nursing staff. Journal of Nursing Administration, (1), 9.

Ziyari, K.; Tavusiyan, A.; Soleymani, M., & Rezayi, H. (2014). Estimation and division of neighborhood development with emphasis on social capital component (case study: abkrove neighborhood). Journal of Research and Urban Planning, 5(18), 59-76. (in Persian)

Zomorodian, A. (2000). Evolution Management (strategy, aplication and new models). Tehran, Industrial Management Institute. (in Persian)