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Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of workplace happiness, coworker support and job stress on employee innovative behavior. The mediating effects of coworker support and job stress are also explored. Design/methodology/approach The study uses survey data from 328 employees from different departments in four- and five-star hotels in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Based on an extensive literature review, five main hypotheses were formulated and explored. These were tested through multiple regression analysis using the SPSS Process Macro plugin. Findings Workplace happiness is the most significant determinant of employees’ innovative behavior, while coworker support plays a significant mediating role. Contrary to the study hypothesis and assumption, job stress alone is not a significant mediator; it only plays a mediating role when combined with coworker support. Research limitations/implications The sample is from a single sector (hotels) in a single country. Future research would benefit from examining the above relationships in other sectors (such as health and education) in the UAE. It could also explore the validity of these relationships in the tourism/hotels sector of other countries in the Middle East and Gulf regions. Originality/value Few studies have attempted to investigate factors that may promote or impede innovative behavior among employees in the hotels sector, particularly in the UAE. The data, model and findings of this study address this gap and add to the current state of knowledge.

Organizational commitment and perceived management styles were examined using survey responses from 1418 employees from both public (N = 474) and private (N = 944) sector organizations, operating in Australia. Comparisons between the two groups of employees revealed higher commitment among private sector employees. These differences were consistent with differences in perceived management styles. In agreement with previous research, factor analysis unveiled that the concept of organizational commitment was multidimensional. However, in the present study, that concept was found to incorporate the notion of "corporate loyalty/citizenship" and the notion of "attachment to the organization." The operational concept of management style used in the study was found to incorporate four subdimensions: (factor 1) the degree of "emphasis on flexibility and adaptation"; (factor 2) the degree of "emphasis on rules and regulations"; (factor 3) the degree of emphasis on "hierarchy and role specialization" and (factor 4) the degree of "work-group discontinuity/change." Multiple regression analysis revealed that the degree of organizational commitment as well as the extent of loyalty and attachment to the organization were affected positively by factor 1 and negatively by factor 2, in both public and private sectors. Factor 3 seems to have a positive effect on overall commitment, but more so in terms of the degree of attachment to the organization. Tenure and supervision were also found to have some effect on commitment, but more so in terms of feelings of attachment to the organization (for tenure) and in terms of feelings of loyalty/citizenship (for supervision). Organization size had a moderate negative effect on commitment, but more so in the private sector. Implications and suggestions for future research and management practice are discussed.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare the differential impacts of job satisfaction (JS), trust (T), and perceived organizational performance (POP) on turnover intention (TI) in public and private sector organizations. Design/methodology/approach Draws on a sample of 311 employees from the service sector (129 public and 182 private) in the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE). The main concepts utilized in the study are borrowed from previous research and further tested for validity and reliability. Four main hypotheses are explored. Findings In support of previous research, statistical analysis (t-test) revealed that public sector employees tend to be more satisfied, more trusting, and have less intention to leave their organization. Regression analysis revealed that public sector employees’ TI are most significantly affected by their perceptions of the performance of their organization, with JS, work experience (WE) and education (Ed) also having significant effects. In contrast, private sector employees’ TI was most significantly affected by JS and feelings of trust (T). Research limitations/implications Although very useful, the present study is limited in scope and therefore suffers from some limitations. The sample only includes employees from UAE organizations operating in education, some government institutions and the financial sector. Future research might consider including employees the health sector and other public organizations such as the immigration/police departments which play important strategic roles in the UAE economy. Also, future research might consider extending the scope of the study to include institutions in similar neighboring countries in the region, such as Qatar and Kuwait. Practical implications The findings of this study points to the relative importance of trust, JS and perceived organizational performance in affecting TI in public and private sectors. These can be considered as indicators to assist managers in these sectors to better manage/minimize TIs. In particular, the findings indicate that managers in general (and UAE public sector managers in particular) need to monitor and better manage not only their employees’ JS but also perceptions of the overall performance of the organization. Originality/value While research on the influence of JS on TI in both of these sectors has been abundant over the years, studies examining the impact of trust and perceptions of organizational performance remain few and are largely lacking. Also, studies on turnover in the UAE (and particularly those comparing public and private sectors) remain largely lacking. This study and its findings fill this gap and provide some insights on the differential impact of trust, JS and perceived organizational performance on employee TIs in public-private sectors, particularly in the UAE context.

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