The purpose of the article is to determine how the quality of interpersonal relationships at work (QIRW) affects the extent of counterproductive work behavior (CWB), and whether this impact is moderated by employees' demographic features (education, age, sex, length of service and type of work). These questions are particularly important for organizations that want to function sustainably, because counterproductive behavior also includes wasting resources, polluting the environment and using environmentally unfriendly products. The research objectives were met using a survey conducted in 2018 among 1488 professionally active people in Poland. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the empirical data. The proposed theoretical model was intended to determine how particular categories of relationship quality affect dimensions of CWB (which included taking into account employees' aforementioned demographic features). I determined that relationship quality has an inverse relationship with counterproductive behavior of employees (the higher the quality, the lower the propensity for CWB), but there are also many paradoxes that I discuss in detail. Moreover, this impact is significantly moderated by employees' demographic features (mainly education, type of work, length of service and sex). I also discuss the theoretical contributions, practical implications and limitations of this study, and directions for future research.Sustainability 2019, 11, 5916 2 of 33 which high-quality work relationships increase the propensity for counterproductive behavior directed against a person. This can be explained by the fact that such relationships are characterized by more frequent interaction and higher trust, which provides more opportunities for abuse [16]. The research issue is thus very complex and is strongly influenced by situational conditions and the features of the employees themselves.Thus far, the understanding of this relationship has tended to be based on intuition, and on research results that are scant at best, and that have been later cited by other authors as empirically confirmed paradigms [17]. The empirical studies on this topic are not comprehensive and focus on selected aspects of the impact of QIRW on CWB. For example: Skarlicki and Folger [18] investigated the impact of relationship quality on employee retaliation; Brass et al. [16] analyzed the impact of relationship quality on conspiracy; and Roberts [19] focused on the importance of relationship quality on, among others, work avoidance, the defensive behavior of personnel or the tendency to recognize one's own mistakes and to accept criticism. In turn, based on a meta-analysis of 161 articles, Chiaburu and Harrison [20] concluded that antagonisms between employees correlate negatively with job satisfaction, commitment and performance, and positively with absenteeism, the desire to leave work, staff turnover and CWB. Ragins and Verbos [21] also indicated a positive relationship between low relationship quality (understood as the exploitation...

Purpose There is a research gap regarding frameworks identifying the specific activities and resources used by companies to build and enhance social ties between them and business actors. The purpose of this paper is to identify those activities and resources and propose a model of them for referring to successive stages of business relationship-building. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research was conducted in the form of 16 semi-structured in-depth individual interviews in four companies operating in Poland, representing the construction, chemical, alcoholic beverages and automotive industries. Findings Resources and activities used by companies to build and strengthen interpersonal bonds within business relationships may be categorised according to the dimension of relationship-focused (RF) vs deal-focused (DF) approach. In the companies analysed, the RF approach appeared dominant, while some symptoms of changes towards a DF approach were observed. Research limitations/implications The proposed model of resources and activities used in companies at successive stages of business relationship-building extends the understanding of how high-quality relationships are built. The study is exploratory in nature and aims to inspire further in-depth analyses, including cross-cultural comparisons. Practical implications The paper helps managers in their day-to-day management of B2B relationships. It provides particular guidelines for business people seeking a potential business partner in Poland and other countries with a communist past. Originality/value The paper’s originality results from combining the behavioural approach to B2B relationships with the concept of the RF vs DF approach. The latter concept is based on the experience and observations of its author and, as such, has so far received limited attention in the literature.

This paper describes the selected demographic characteristics as moderators of the impact of the quality of interpersonal relationships at work on counterproductive work behaviours. The main purposes of the research are describing: 1) how interpersonal relationships at work influences the intensity of counterproductive work behaviours; 2) how sex, age, education, length of service and type of job moderate the influence of interpersonal relationships at work on counterproductive work behaviours; 3) how the above-mentioned demographic characteristics influence interpersonal relationships at work and counterproductive work behaviours separately. The studies on the literature indicated that there were no comprehensive research results concerning those problems. The research paper fills a gap in the literature relating to the impact of interpersonal relationships at work on counterproductive work behaviours and the relation to modelling this impact by demographic characteristics of employees (sex, age, education, length of service, type of job). To achieve the study purposes, the author conducted a survey conducted on a sample of 1336 active employees in Poland. The survey period was 2018-2019. The IBM SPSS Statistics and IBM SPSS Amos were used to analyze data. Based on Structural Equation Modelling, it was that:1) interpersonal relationships at work negatively impacted on the intensity of counterproductive work behaviours against another individual; 2) the strength of influence of interpersonal relationships at work on counterproductive work behaviours did not change relevantly in modelling with selected demographic characteristics (sex, age, education, length of service, type of job); 3) only education, current kind of job and service length had a relevant influence on interpersonal relationships at work and counterproductive work behaviours. The research results could be useful for managers. In their activities, managers should systematically monitor interpersonal relationships at work and counterproductive work behaviours taking into account employees' demographic characteristics. In this process, managers should pay particular attention to education, type of current job, and service length.

Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) are voluntary behaviors of organization members, going beyond their job descriptions, which aim at assisting coworkers and/or taking care of an organization and its operations. Since 1980s' many researchers contributed to the explanation of their nature, dimensions as well as antecedents, however, less attention has been paid to differences in OCB scale and frequency caused by an organization type. In the paper we verify the hypothesis that employees of for-profit private organizations engage in OCBs more frequently than employees of the public sector. The hypothesis is verified on a basis of a quantitative study conducted among 280 employees of the private sector and 244 employees of local government units. The analysis of the data brings contradictory results. In general, employees of the public sector organizations perform OCB more frequently than employees of the private sector. However, their OCBs are people-oriented. OCBs supporting an organization are more frequent among employees of the private sector.

Research Background: This article compares the private and public sector by the quality of interpersonal relationships between employees. Available publications indicate some differences in this quality between each of these sectors. However, there are no comprehensive empirical studies in this area. Purpose: The author set two objectives: 1) to identify possible differences in the interpersonal relationships at work between the private and public sector, 2) to evaluate the quality of interpersonal relationships at work in the private and public sector in Poland. Research methodology: To achieve the objectives the author used the results of a survey conducted in 2018 on a sample of 1,336 active workers in Poland. Results: An analysis of the results made it possible to achieve both objectives. It has been confirmed that the quality of interpersonal relationships at work differ between the private and public sector (the quality was higher in the private sector). The Author also evaluated the quality of interpersonal relationships at work in the private and public sector in Poland. Novelty: The presented research results are novel, because it has been confirmed, that the quality of interpersonal relationships at work differ between the private and public sector.