Organizational identification of knowledge workers in India: causes, consequences and the relevance of context

Abstract

PurposeThis research develops and tests a model for organizational identification (OID) in a sample of knowledge workers in India. It calls attention to the relational antecedents of OID that are often overlooked in existing literature. Strong theoretical arguments are also built for context-specific outcome behaviors such as intrinsic motivation (IM) and innovative work behavior (IWB) that are relevant to knowledge work.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 357 IT industry employees in India. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypotheses and the path model.FindingsStrong support was found for relational antecedents of OID and the outcome variable IWB. The findings indicated that OID impacts IWB through the mediating mechanism of IM. Overall, the model demonstrated strong predictive power.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that social and relational variables could be strong managerial levers to increase the feeling of belongingness experienced by knowledge workers in India. In turn, OID can impact IWB, which is a significant outcome for knowledge work.Originality/valueThe study finds strong support for hypothesized relationships that have been unexplored or underexplored in mainstream OID literature. Relational antecedents were found to be strong predictors of OID in this sample. Also, the relationship between OID and IWB, an outcome behavior that is specifically relevant to knowledge-driven businesses, has not been explored earlier.

Generation Z software employees turnover intention

“…The results reveal the direct and indirect effects of resonant leadership on work performance and turnover intention (Gaan & Shin, 2022;Sahu et al, 2018;Squires et al, 2010;Wagner et al, 2013). Furthermore, the findings indicated that self-efficacy (Bayraktar & Jiménez, 2020;Jayathilake et al, 2021;Reddy & Dawlinmaria, 2020;Singh et al, 2018) and organizational identification (Chillakuri & Mahanandia, 2018;Mazumder et al, 2021;Shen et al, 2014;Walumbwa et al, 2011) mediated the leadership process significantly and positively (Afzal et al, 2019;Suifan et al, 2020). Thus, the findings of this study concur, to some extent, with the results of the extant literature.…”

“…In the context of SIT and SET (van Knippenberg & Schippers, 2007), it is argued that employees with a desire to identify with the organization (Mazumder et al, 2021) work towards goals with higher efficiency and potential (Bakotic, 2016;Jiang & Law, 2013;Mazumder et al, 2021;Singh et al, 2018). Thus, through fulfilling their entrepreneurial orientations based on the trust established by the leaders, Gen-Z employees feel more obliged to stay with the organization.…”

“…Moreover, it can be argued from the perspective of social exchange that resonant leaders who treat Gen-Z employees with dignity, care, and empathy (Smith et al, 2011) can manage Gen-Z expectations. Similarly, this evokes a desire among Gen-Z employees to identify with the organization (Smith & Strawser, 2022), improves performance (Mazumder et al, 2021), and lowers attrition (Suifan et al, 2020). However, research on the Gen-Z cohort is limited, particularly studies that consider resonant leadership as an antecedent at the team level and work performance and turnover intention as individual outcomes.…”

“…However, research on the Gen-Z cohort is limited, particularly studies that consider resonant leadership as an antecedent at the team level and work performance and turnover intention as individual outcomes. Although the outcomes of organizational identification, such as work performance and turnover intention, have been studied independently (Cole & Bruch, 2006;Mazumder et al, 2021), their linkages with resonant leadership have not been empirically confirmed in a single study from a crisis perspective. Furthermore, previous studies have various limitations, such as multiple sources of data collection as a lacuna (Mazumder et al, 2021).…”

“…Although the outcomes of organizational identification, such as work performance and turnover intention, have been studied independently (Cole & Bruch, 2006;Mazumder et al, 2021), their linkages with resonant leadership have not been empirically confirmed in a single study from a crisis perspective. Furthermore, previous studies have various limitations, such as multiple sources of data collection as a lacuna (Mazumder et al, 2021). Thus, we propose the following hypotheses:…”